horsepower

noun horse·pow·er \ ˈhȯrs-ˌpau̇(-ə)r \

Updated on: 19 May 2018

Definition of horsepower

1 : the power that a horse exerts in pulling

2 : a unit of power equal in the U.S. to 746 watts and nearly equivalent to the English gravitational unit of the same name that equals 550 foot-pounds of work per second

3 : effective power

intellectual horsepower

computing horsepower

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Examples of horsepower in a Sentence

an engine with 200 horsepower
that architectural firm probably doesn't have the creative horsepower to produce a truly innovative design

Recent Examples of horsepower from the Web

It's powered by a 6.75-liter, twin-turbocharged V-12 — yes, 12 cylinders — good for 563 horsepower.

— chris woodyard, USA TODAY, "Rolls-Royce reveals Cullinan SUV at a price of $325,000," 10 May 2018
In one riotous scene, a line of pistoning couples becomes the cylinders of an engine, revving up and then cooling off, jaunty in snaps of the back and whooshing in their horsepower.

— lily janiak, San Francisco Chronicle, "A rainbow of shades in the voices of SHN’s ‘The Color Purple’," 3 May 2018
That’s the same torque and 33 horsepower more than is produced by the current AMG 43 engines.

— csaba csere, Car and Driver, "Nine Things You Must Know about the New Mercedes Inline-Six," 20 Mar. 2018
Some guys were tinkering in their garage, trying to get more horsepower out of the engines that Detroit was building.

— mark anthony green, GQ, "We Took Killer Mike to Test Drive the New Generation of American Muscle Cars," 7 Mar. 2018
DiBenedetto's car is the R/T Scat Pack model with a six-speed manual transmission and a 6.4-liter engine that delivers 485 horsepower.

— jesse leavenworth, courant.com, "2016 Dodge Challenger: Retro Muscle For An Admitted "Speed Freak" In Manchester," 10 Aug. 2017
The dual-overhead-cam engine is a rev-willing VTEC design that produces its peak 272 horsepower at 6500 rpm, down slightly from the previous car’s 279-horse V-6.

— andrew wendler, Car and Driver, "2019 Acura RDX Crossover: Return of the Turbocharged Four," 29 Mar. 2018
Volkswagen says the plug-in hybrid drivetrain delivers 355 horsepower and an anticipated 26 miles of all-electric range.

— andrew j. hawkins, The Verge, "VW’s Cross Sport concept will hypnotize you with its glowing LED grille," 28 Mar. 2018
The sound of all that horsepower is more visceral, thanks to GTS-specific engine and exhaust tuning and doing away with some of the car's sound insulation.

— jeff yip, Houston Chronicle, "Fast mover: 911 Carrera GTS is pure Porsche and loaded for bear," 26 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'horsepower.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of horsepower

1806

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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HORSEPOWER Defined for English Language Learners

horsepower

noun

Definition of horsepower for English Language Learners

: a unit used to measure the power of engines

HORSEPOWER Defined for Kids

horsepower

noun horse·pow·er \ ˈhȯrs-ˌpau̇-ər \

Definition of horsepower for Students

: a unit of power that equals the work done in lifting 550 pounds one foot in one second

Learn More about horsepower

See words that rhyme with horsepower Spanish Central: Translation of horsepower Nglish: Translation of horsepower for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of horsepower for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about horsepower

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