power play

noun

1

: a military, diplomatic, political, or administrative maneuver in which power is brought to bear

2

a

: a concentrated attack in football in which the ballcarrier is preceded by a mass of blockers

b

: a situation in ice hockey in which one team temporarily has more players on the ice than the other team because of a penalty

Examples of power play in a Sentence

They scored their first goal on a power play.

He made a power play to seize control of the company.

Recent Examples on the Web

Carlson will slot into Raddysh’s spot next to Moser and will provide a similar right-handed shot on the power play for Nikita Kucherov passes. — Scott Turick, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 July 2026

The Leafs, conversely, struggled so mightily in the first half with their power play that Marc Savard, the assistant coach who ran the unit, was fired two days before Christmas. — Jonas Siegel, New York Times, 7 July 2026

Our other data center power play is GE Vernova , which makes natural gas turbines that can be used to generate off-grid energy. — Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 1 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for power play

• aaa
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• axillae
• baa
• beaujolais
• bouvier
• breakaway