horsepower
noun
horse·pow·er
ˈhȯrs-ˌpau̇(-ə)r 
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
Synonyms
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 on the Web
But the history of the Viper is more than just a tale of horsepower and speed.
—
Bob Sorokanich, Robb Report, 17 July 2024
The car has an adequate horsepower of 147 but isn’t really a neck jerker getaway car.
—David Krumboltz, The Mercury News, 23 June 2024
For reference, the power of a single gigawatt matches the horsepower delivered by 2,000 Chevy Corvette Z06s or used by 100 million LED light bulbs.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 6 June 2024
Bajaj says running the Freedom 125 on CNG should cut fuel costs by around half, albeit with a small hit to its sub-10 horsepower performance that reduces top speed from 93.4 km/h (58 mph) to 90.5 km/h (56.2 mph).
—New Atlas, 10 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for horsepower 
Bob Sorokanich, Robb Report, 17 July 2024
The car has an adequate horsepower of 147 but isn’t really a neck jerker getaway car.
—David Krumboltz, The Mercury News, 23 June 2024
For reference, the power of a single gigawatt matches the horsepower delivered by 2,000 Chevy Corvette Z06s or used by 100 million LED light bulbs.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 6 June 2024
Bajaj says running the Freedom 125 on CNG should cut fuel costs by around half, albeit with a small hit to its sub-10 horsepower performance that reduces top speed from 93.4 km/h (58 mph) to 90.5 km/h (56.2 mph).
—New Atlas, 10 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for horsepower
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'horsepower.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near horsepower
Cite this Entry
“Horsepower.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/horsepower. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
horsepower
noun
horse·pow·er
ˈhȯr-ˌspau̇(-ə)r
: a unit of power equal in the U.S. to 746 watts and nearly equal to the English unit of the same name that equals 550 foot-pounds of work per second
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