pow'r

Noun

power (countable and uncountable, plural powers)

1. The ability to do or undergo something.
   • He has lost the power to speak.

   Synonyms:

   kick

2. (social) The ability to coerce, influence, or control.
   • The proportion of female colleagues in the Hsinchu County Government and its affiliated units has reached 61%. “Women Power” is the power behind over half of the services provided by the county government.2022 March 8, “Magistrate Yang Wen-ke Sends Female Staff in Hsinchu County Government Roses for Their Contributions”, in HsinChu County Government, archived from the original on 19 Jul 2022
   1. (countable, social) The ability to affect or influence.
      • the power of the written word
   2. (social) The ability or authority to control, govern, command, coerce, etc., such as in a legal, political or business sphere.
      • He's nominally president, but he does not have any real power.
   3. (in plural, metonymically, social) The people in charge of legal or political power, the government.
   4. (metonymically, social) A strong or influential nation, company, or other such body.
      • In the 19th century, Britain and France were major colonial powers.

See all 30 meanings of power