power play

noun

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

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

The Bruins outshot the Blues 12-4 in the first period alone, and pushed Binnington to his limits on a power play that resulted from a penalty on Colton Parayko for sending the puck over the glass. — Laine Higgins, WSJ, "The Blues’ Stunning Stanley Cup Run Was Keyed by a Rookie Goaltender," 13 June 2019 Doughty immediately saw himself on the power play with Kovalchuk to plug a hole that has been present for some time. — Curtis Zupke, latimes.com, "Drew Doughty finds the right negotiator for his new eight-year, $88-million deal with the Kings — himself," 1 July 2018 Washington cashed in on the ensuing power play with the night’s prettiest goal. — Adam Candee, Detroit Free Press, "2018 NHL Stanley Cup Finals: Golden Knights-Capitals Game 2 observations," 30 May 2018 When Brian Dumoulin picked up a delay of game penalty early in the third period, the Penguins killed off the power play with impressive efficiency. — Kevin Allen, USA TODAY, "Less-than-perfect Pittsburgh Penguins 'embrace the struggle,' find ways to win," 22 Apr. 2018 Fredrick Gaudreau got an empty-netter at 17:08 of the third to close Milwaukee's scoring, then Cockerill scored his second of the night for Cleveland on a power play with 23 seconds remaining. — Plain Dealer Sports, cleveland.com, "Milwaukee Admirals roll past Cleveland Monsters, 6-3," 5 Apr. 2018 However, the change did not keep the Cardinals out of the net, as Nehmer potted the team’s fifth goal on a power play with 5:46 to go in the period. — Dave Souza, BostonGlobe.com, "Pope Francis is quick to KO St. John’s Prep," 13 Mar. 2018 The Americans took advantage of the ensuing 5-on-3 power play with a quick goal that pushed its lead to 2-0. — David Brandt, Houston Chronicle, "Canadians earn Olympic gold in ice dancing, US hockey wins," 20 Feb. 2018 The Americans took advantage of the ensuing 5-on-3 power play with a quick goal that pushed its lead to 2-0. — Washington Post, "Canadians earn Olympic gold in ice dancing, US hockey wins," 20 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'power play.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.