horsepower
Use Horsepower in a sentence
ər noun
1.
a foot-pound-second unit of power, equivalent to 550 foot-pounds per second, or 745.7 watts.
2.
Informal. the capacity to achieve or produce; strength or talent: The university's history faculty is noted for its intellectual horsepower.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To horsepower
Collins
World English Dictionary
horsepower (ˈhɔːsˌpaʊə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | an fps unit of power, equal to 550 foot-pounds per second (equivalent to 745.7 watts) |
| 2. | a US standard unit of power, equal to 746 watts |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Horsepower
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
horsepower
1806, from horse + power, established by Watt as the power needed to lift 33,000 pounds one foot in one minute, which is actually about 1.5 times the power of a strong horse.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
| horsepower (hôrs'pou'ər) Pronunciation Key
A unit that is used to measure the power of engines and motors. One unit of horsepower is equal to the power needed to lift 550 pounds one foot in one second. This unit has been widely replaced by the watt in scientific usage; one horsepower is equal to 745.7 watts. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
horsepower definition
A unit of power equal to about 746 watts.
Note: The horsepower is used to measure the power of engines.
Note: This term was coined by James Watt, who invented a new type of steam engine in the eighteenth century. Watt found that the horse could do a certain amount of work per second; when he sold his steam engines, this measurement allowed him to estimate the worth of an engine in terms of the number of horses it would replace. Therefore, a six-horsepower engine was capable of replacing six horses.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
It loads the movies fast, it navigates fast, etc thanks to its extra horsepower under the hood.
Its best minds must double their horsepower to overcome the gravitational field of tradition.
Private boats may use two motors provided the total combined horsepower does not exceed the horsepower limits above.
The races must have been spectacular for people who were accustomed to thinking of horsepower in terms of actual horses.
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