Definition of power play
1 : a military, diplomatic, political, or administrative maneuver in which power is brought to bear
2a : 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
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Test Your Vocabulary
Slippery Words Quiz—Changing with the Times
- What is an earlier meaning of nice?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Anagram puzzles meet word search.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Slippery Words Quiz—Changing with the Times
Do you know these earlier meanings of words?
Take the quizWords of Snow and Ice Quiz
A selection of words from the chillier parts of t...
Take the quizSpell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quizSCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!
Play the game
Share power play
Time Traveler for power play
The first known use of power play was in 1947
See more words from the same year