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

There were changes on the power play. —Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 23 Nov. 2025

With Hayden Hodgson called for charging Mario Ferraro, Klingberg took a pass from Macklin Celebrini, took a stride forward and beat Senators goalie Linus Ullmark with a wrist shot from between the circles for his third goal of the season, all on the power play. —Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 23 Nov. 2025

With the Kraken on the power play, Schwartz put them ahead, deflecting Montour's pass to the right doorstep through Knight's five-hole. —CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025

Vegas needed less than 30 seconds to strike during its first power play Tuesday. —Peter Baugh, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for power play

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