power structure

noun

1

: a group of persons having control of an organization : establishment

2

: the hierarchical interrelationships existing within a controlling group

Examples of power structure in a Sentence

The parade won't happen without the approval of the city's power structure.

Women in the company are struggling for equality against the male power structure.

They are making changes to the power structure of the church.

Recent Examples on the Web

The bonds in Task are between men and other men, whether the backdrop is a barroom or a church; the loyalties, power structures, rivalries, and affections are all patriarchal. —Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2025

The Global South initiative speaks to billions of individuals whose innovations have been marginalized by traditional power structures. —Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025

Social theory attempts to explain ways-of-being, power structures and dynamics, and other social phenomena. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 10 Sep. 2025

This panel brings together three filmmakers whose works confront entrenched power structures through both content and form. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for power structure

• infrastructure
• macrostructure
• microstructure
• nanostructure
• superstructure
• ultrastructure
• restructure
• substructure