| 1. | ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something. |
| 2. | political or national strength: the balance of power in Europe. |
| 3. | great or marked ability to do or act; strength; might; force. |
| 4. | the possession of control or command over others; authority; ascendancy: power over men's minds. |
| 5. | political ascendancy or control in the government of a country, state, etc.: They attained power by overthrowing the legal government. |
| 6. | legal ability, capacity, or authority: the power of attorney. |
| 7. | delegated authority; authority granted to a person or persons in a particular office or capacity: the powers of the president. |
| 8. | a document or written statement conferring legal authority. |
| 9. | a person or thing that possesses or exercises authority or influence. |
| 10. | a state or nation having international authority or influence: The great powers held an international conference. |
| 11. | a military or naval force: The Spanish Armada was a mighty power. |
| 12. | Often, powers. a deity; divinity: the heavenly powers. |
| 13. | powers, Theology. an order of angels. Compare angel (def. 1). |
| 14. | Dialect. a large number or amount: There's a power of good eatin' at the church social. |
| 15. | Physics.
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| 16. | mechanical energy as distinguished from hand labor: a loom driven by power. |
| 17. | a particular form of mechanical or physical energy: hydroelectric power. |
| 18. | energy, force, or momentum: The door slammed shut, seemingly under its own power. |
| 19. | Mathematics.
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| 20. | Optics.
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| 21. | to supply with electricity or other means of power: Atomic energy powers the new submarines. |
| 22. | to give power to; make powerful: An outstanding quarterback powered the team in its upset victory. |
| 23. | to inspire; spur; sustain: A strong faith in divine goodness powers his life. |
| 24. | (of a fuel, engine, or any source able to do work) to supply force to operate (a machine): An electric motor powers this drill. |
| 25. | to drive or push by applying power: She powered the car expertly up the winding mountain road. |
| 26. | operated or driven by a motor or electricity: a power mower; power tools. |
| 27. | power-assisted: His new car has power brakes and power windows. |
| 28. | conducting electricity: a power cable. |
| 29. | Informal. expressing or exerting power; characteristic of those having authority or influence: to host a power lunch. |
| 30. | power down, Computers. to shut off. |
| 31. | power up, Computers. to turn on. |
| 32. | the powers that be, those in supreme command; the authorities: The decision is in the hands of the powers that be. |
| 1. | Also called cardinal numeral. any of the numbers that express amount, as one, two, three, etc. (distinguished from ordinal number ). |
| 2. | Also called potency, power. Mathematics. a number or symbol analogous to the number of elements in a finite set, being identical for two sets that can be placed into one-to-one correspondence: The cardinal number of the set a 1, a2, … an is n. |

pow·er (pou'ər) n.
To supply with power, especially mechanical power. [Middle English, from Old French pooir, to be able, power, from Vulgar Latin *potēre, to be able, from Latin potis, able, powerful; see poti- in Indo-European roots.] |
In physics, the amount of energy put out or produced in a given amount of time. Power is often measured in watts or kilowatts.
In mathematics, a power is a number multiplied by itself the number of times signified by an exponent placed to the right and above it. Thus, 32, which means 3 × 3, is a power — the second power of three, or three squared, or nine. The expression 106, or ten to the sixth power, means 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10, or one million.
power pow·er (pou'ər)
n.
The capacity to perform or act effectively.
Strength or force that is exerted or that is capable of being exerted.
The amount of work done per unit time.
A measure of the magnification of an optical instrument, such as a microscope or telescope.
| cardinal number (kär'dn-əl) Pronunciation Key
A number, such as 3, 11, or 412, used in counting to indicate quantity but not order. Compare ordinal number. |
power (pou'ər) Pronunciation Key
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power
In addition to the idioms beginning with power, also see corridors of power; more power to someone; staying power.