- power
- [[t]pa͟ʊə(r)[/t]]
♦powers, powering, powered1) N-UNCOUNT If someone has power, they have a lot of control over people and activities.
She interviewed six women who have reached positions of great power and influence...
In a democracy, power must be divided.
...a political power struggle between the Liberals and National Party.
Human societies have the power to solve the problems confronting them...
Fathers have the power to dominate children and young people...
He was so drunk that he had lost the power of speech.
3) N-UNCOUNT: poss N If it is in or within your power to do something, you are able to do it or you have the resources to deal with it.Your debt situation is only temporary, and it is within your power to resolve it...
Although it is not in his power to do so, he said he would rebuild the Air Base...
We must do everything in our power to ensure the success of the conference.
4) N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl, oft the N to-inf If someone in authority has the power to do something, they have the legal right to do it.The Prime Minister has the power to dismiss and appoint senior ministers...
The police have the power of arrest...
The legal powers of British Customs officers are laid out in the Customs and Excise Management Act of 1969.
5) N-UNCOUNT: oft in N If people take power or come to power, they take charge of a country's affairs. If a group of people are in power, they are in charge of a country's affairs.In 1964 Labour came into power...
He first assumed power in 1970...
The party has been in power since independence in 1964.
6) N-COUNT: usu supp N You can use power to refer to a country that is very rich or important, or has strong military forces.In Western eyes, Iraq is a major power in an area of great strategic importance.
...the emergence of the new major economic power, Japan.
7) N-UNCOUNT: usu supp N The power of something is the ability that it has to move or affect things.The Roadrunner had better power, better tyres, and better brakes.
...massive computing power.
8) N-UNCOUNT Power is energy, especially electricity, that is obtained in large quantities from a fuel source and used to operate lights, heating, and machinery.Nuclear power is cleaner than coal...
Power has been restored to most parts that were hit last night by high winds...
There is enough power to run up to four lights.
9) VERB The device or fuel that powers a machine provides the energy that the machine needs in order to work.→ See also high-powered[V n] The `flywheel' battery, it is said, could power an electric car for 600 miles on a single charge...
[V n] The planes are powered by Rolls Royce engines.
Syn:Derived words:-powered COMB in ADJ...battery-powered radios.
...nuclear-powered submarines.
10) ADJ: ADJ n Power tools are operated by electricity....large power tools, such as chainsaws.
...a power drill.
Ant:11) N-SING: to the N of num, to the ord N In mathematics, power is used in expressions such as 2 to the power of 4 or 2 to the 4th power to indicate that 2 must be multiplied by itself 4 times. This is written in numbers as 24, or 2 x 2 x 2 x 2, which equals 16.Any number to the power of nought is equal to one.
12) PHRASE You can refer to people in authority as the powers that be, especially when you want to say that you disagree with them or do not understand what they say or do.The powers that be, in this case the independent Television Association, banned the advertisement altogether...
The powers that be may keep us from building a house just where we want to.
Phrasal Verbs:- power up
English dictionary. 2008.
