power

verb

powered; powering; powers

transitive verb

1

: to supply with power and especially motive power

The entire village is powered by wind.

a gas-powered lawn mower

2

: to give impetus to

New interests and skills on your team can power creativity and innovation …

—Stephanie Dillon

intransitive verb

1

: to move about by means of motive power

2

: to move with great speed or force

powered down the field toward the goal

Examples of power in a Sentence

The running back powered through the defensive line.

He powered the ball past the goalie.

She powered her way to the finish line.

Recent Examples on the Web

Warrior Mars powers your 6th House of Work and Wellness, sextiling unearthing Pluto in your 4th House of Roots to update habits shaped by history. —Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 16 Apr. 2026

Wherever creator Lee Sung Jin took the concept next, a bitter rivalry would presumably be its driving force, just as Wong and Yeun’s searing anti-platonic chemistry powered Season 1 through some tonal bumps and big swings. —Alison Herman, Variety, 16 Apr. 2026

For months, xAI has used 27 unpermitted gas turbines — each about the size of a bus — to power the data center used to run the chatbot Grok. —Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 16 Apr. 2026

The center will be powered by the IBM Quantum System Two, a modular computer that combines quantum and classical architecture to explore the nearly incalculable advances in technology the new field may bring. —Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 2

Phrases Containing power

• alternative power
• at full power
• balance of power
• black power
• buying power
• corridors/halls of power
• counter-power
• do (someone) a power of good
• drawing power
• flower power
• great power
• higher power
• high-power
• in power
• in someone's power
• man power
• more power to someone
• more power to someone's elbow
• motive power
• nuclear power
• on a power trip
• police power
• power-assisted steering
• power base
• power behind the throne
• power broker
• power chord
• power cut
• power dive
• power forward
• power function
• power mower
• power of attorney
• power pack
• power plant
• power play
• power point
• power politics
• power series
• power shovel
• power(s) of persuasion
• power station
• power steering
• power strip
• power structure
• power struggle
• power sweep
• power take-off
• power train
• power trip
• power up
• power walk
• pulling power
• purchasing power
• reserved power
• residual power
• resolving power
• sea power
• shift/tip/tilt the balance of power
• staying power
• taken power
• the corridors/halls of power
• the power behind the throne
• under one's own power
• war power
• will to power
• within someone's power
• world power

Rhymes for power

• bower
• cower
• dour
• flour
• flower
• fower
• glower
• hour
• our
• scour
• shower
• sour

Kids Definition

power

1 of 3 noun

pow·​er ˈpau̇(-ə)r 

1

a

: possession of control, authority, or influence over others

a politician hungry for power

b

: one having such power

especially : an independent state

China is a major power in Asia

2

: ability to act or do something

lose the power of speech

3

a

: physical might

b

: mental strength

4

: the number of times as indicated by an exponent a number occurs as a factor in a product

also : the product obtained by raising a number to a power

10³, or 10·10·10, is the 3rd power of 10

5

a

: force or energy that is or can be applied to work

electric power

b

: the time rate at which work is done or energy given off or transferred

6

: magnification sense 2b

power

2 of 3 adjective

: relating to, supplying, or using power

a power drill

power failure

power

3 of 3 verb

: to supply with power

Medical Definition

power

noun

pow·​er ˈpau̇(-ə)r 

1

: an inherent property or effect

a drug that enhances the heart's pumping power

—Kathleen Fackelmann

2

: magnification sense 2b

Legal Definition

power

noun

pow·​er

1

: capability of acting or of producing an effect

parties of unequal bargaining power

2

a

: authority or capacity to act that is delegated by law or constitution

—often used in pl.

— commerce power

often capitalized C&P : the power delegated to Congress under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution to regulate commerce especially among the states see also commerce clause

— concurrent power

: a power that is held simultaneously by more than one entity

specifically : a power delegated to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution that is also held by the states

— enumerated powers \ i-​ˈnü-​mə-​ˌrā-​təd-​, -​ˈnyü-​ \

: the powers specifically named and delegated to the federal government or prohibited to be exercised by the states under the U.S. Constitution compare reserved powers in this entry

— executive power

: the power delegated to the executive of a government

specifically : any or all of the powers delegated to the president under Article II of the U.S. Constitution

— implied power

: a power that is reasonably necessary and appropriate to carry out the purposes of a power expressly granted

especially : a power that is not specifically delegated to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution but that is implied by the necessary and proper clause to be delegated for the purpose of carrying out the enumerated powers see also McCulloch v. Maryland

— judicial power

: the power granted to the judicial branch of a government

specifically : the power delegated to the judiciary under Article III of the U.S. Constitution

— legislative power

: the power delegated to a legislative branch of a government

specifically : any or all of the powers delegated to Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution

— police power

: the power of a government to exercise reasonable control over persons and property within its jurisdiction in the interest of the general security, health, safety, morals, and welfare except where legally prohibited (as by constitutional provision)

— reserved powers

: the political powers reserved by a constitution to the exclusive jurisdiction of a specified political authority

specifically : powers that are not expressly delegated to the federal government nor expressly prohibited to the states and are therefore left to the states under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution compare enumerated powers in this entry

— spending power

: the power granted to a government body to make expenditures

specifically : the power delegated to Congress under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the U.S.

— taxing power

: the power granted to a government body to lay and collect taxes

specifically : such power delegated to Congress under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution

— war powers

: the powers delegated to the executive and legislative branches of the federal government relating to the waging of war: as

a : the power delegated to Congress under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution to declare war

b : the power delegated to the president under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution to serve as commander in chief of the armed forces

b

: an ability, authority, or right usually conferred by one person upon another to do something that effects a change in a legal relationship

specifically : such authority or right to affect another's interest in property (as by conveyance) see also power of appointment, power of attorney

— collateral power

: naked power in this entry

— general power

: a power that may be exercised in favor of anyone including the donee

— implied power

: the power of one acting under an implied agency

— naked power

: a power (as a power of sale) granted to one who has no interest in the property to which the power relates (as an executor who is not a legatee or devisee)

called also collateral power

compare power coupled with an interest in this entry

— power appendant \ -​ə-​ˈpen-​dənt \

: a power coupled with an interest (as a grant of a lease) that the donee can exercise only out of an estate (as a life estate) that he or she holds

called also power appurtenant

— power coupled with an interest

: a power accompanying an interest of the donee in the property to which the power relates

— power in gross

: a naked power exercisable by the donee only in the creation of estates that will not attach to the estate the donee holds or be satisfied out of the donee's own interest

— power of acceptance

: the power of an offeree to bind an offeror to a contract by accepting the offer

— power of modification \ -​ˌmä-​də-​fə-​ˈkā-​shən \

: a power reserved in an instrument (as one creating a trust) to make changes by a specified method

— power of revocation

: a power usually reserved by a person in an instrument (as one creating a trust) to revoke the legal relationship that the person has created or made a possibility

— power of sale

: a power granted (as in a will, trust, or mortgage) to sell the property to which the power relates often under specified circumstances (as upon the default of a mortgage)

— power of termination

: a power of a grantor or the grantor's successors in interest to enter upon an estate that was granted upon a condition after the breach of the condition in order to terminate the granted estate and revest it in the grantor or successors in interest

called also right of entry, right of reentry

— special power

: a power in which the person or class of persons to whom the disposition of property under the power is to be made is expressly designated and excludes the donee or where the power is to transfer, charge, or encumber any estate less than a fee simple

— stock power

: an irrevocable power of attorney used in making a transfer of a certificate of stock

3

a

: possession of control, authority, or influence over others

b

: one having such power

specifically : a sovereign state

c

: political control or influence