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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The power play’s failure in that series cost assistant coach Ray Bennett his job. Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 31 May 2026 With the power plays in full force from YouTube filmmakers Kane Parsons and Curry Barker, there’s no doubt that the film taking the biggest hit this weekend is The Mandalorian and Grogu. Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 29 May 2026 Aho scored first on their second power play of the game, a questionable hooking call on Zack Bolduc that the Canes’ top unit made very short work of via a cross-ice one-timer with five minutes left in the opening frame. Arpon Basu, New York Times, 28 May 2026 But apart from his goal and two assists in the clincher against Edmonton, Kreider had just one academic goal and four points in his other 11 games, spent predominantly on the top line and playing prominently on the power play. Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 16 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for power play

Word History

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of power play was in 1947

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Power play.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/power%20play. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.

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