power
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The ability to do or undergo something.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
powerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpaʊɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The ability to do or undergo something.
social
The ability to coerce, influence, or control.
countable
The ability to affect or influence.
attributive
Designating one who does something forcefully or on a large or grand scale.
The production or flow of energy providing means to do work; energy per time unit.
Physical force or strength.
verb
transitive
To hit or kick something forcefully.
To enable or provide the impetus for.
intransitive
To move or advance with great force or speed.
Supply the force or power for the functioning of
transitive
To provide power for (a mechanical or electronic device).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The ability to do or undergo something.
Used this way, power is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use power
- “The deterrent power of nuclear weapons.”noun
- “The mysterious presence of an evil power.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Having or using or propelled by means of power or power of a specified kind.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Having great power or force or potency or effect.
Lacking power.
In a powerful manner.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A couple both of whom have high-powered careers or are politically influential.
Make a power dive.
A power tool for drilling holes into hard materials.
Equipment failure resulting when the supply of power fails.
A system of high tension cables by which electrical power is distributed throughout a region.
A power tool for drilling rocks.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.