Definitions for: Power


[n] physical strength
[n] possession of controlling influence; "the deterrent power of nuclear weapons"; "the power of his love saved her"
[n] possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done; "danger heightened his powers of discrimination"
[n] a mathematical notation indicating the number of times a quantity is multiplied by itself
[n] a state powerful enough to influence events throughout the world
[n] a very wealthy or powerful businessman; "an oil baron"
[n] one possessing or exercising power or influence or authority; "the mysterious presence of an evil power"; "may the force be with you"; "the forces of evil"
[n] (physics) the rate of doing work; measured in watts (= joules/second)
[n] (of a government or government official) holding an office means being in power; "being in office already gives a candidate a great advantage"; "during his first year in power"
[v] supply the force or power for the functioning of; "The gasoline powers the engines"



Webster (1913) Definition: Pow"er, n. (Zo["o]l.)
Same as Poor, the fish.


Pow"er, n. [OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F.
pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to
be able, to have power. See Possible, Potent, and cf.
Posse comitatus.]
1. Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent; the
faculty of doing or performing something; capacity for
action or performance; capability of producing an effect,
whether physical or moral: potency; might; as, a man of
great power; the power of capillary attraction; money
gives power. ``One next himself in power, and next in
crime.'' --Milton.

2. Ability, regarded as put forth or exerted; strength,
force, or energy in action; as, the power of steam in
moving an engine; the power of truth, or of argument, in
producing conviction; the power of enthusiasm. ``The power
of fancy.'' --Shak.

3. Capacity of undergoing or suffering; fitness to be acted
upon; susceptibility; -- called also passive power; as,
great power of endurance.

Power, then, is active and passive; faculty is
active power or capacity; capacity is passive power.
--Sir W.
Hamilton.

4. The exercise of a faculty; the employment of strength; the
exercise of any kind of control; influence; dominion;
sway; command; government.

Power is no blessing in itself but when it is
employed to protect the innocent. --Swift.

5. The agent exercising an ability to act; an individual
invested with authority; an institution, or government,
which exercises control; as, the great powers of Europe;
hence, often, a superhuman agent; a spirit; a divinity.
``The powers of darkness.'' --Milton.

And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
--Matt. xxiv.
29.

6. A military or naval force; an army or navy; a great host.
--Spenser.

Never such a power . . . Was levied in the body of a
land. --Shak.



7. A large quantity; a great number; as, a power o? good
things. [Colloq.] --Richardson.

8. (Mech.)
(a) The rate at which mechanical energy is exerted or
mechanical work performed, as by an engine or other
machine, or an animal, working continuously; as, an
engine of twenty horse power.

Note: The English unit of power used most commonly is the
horse power. See Horse power.
(b) A mechanical agent; that from which useful mechanical
energy is derived; as, water power; steam power; hand
power, etc.
(c) Applied force; force producing motion or pressure; as,
the power applied at one and of a lever to lift a
weight at the other end.

Note: This use in mechanics, of power as a synonym for force,
is improper and is becoming obsolete.
(d) A machine acted upon by an animal, and serving as a
motor to drive other machinery; as, a dog power.

Note: Power is used adjectively, denoting, driven, or adapted
to be driven, by machinery, and not actuated directly
by the hand or foot; as, a power lathe; a power loom; a
power press.

9. (Math.) The product arising from the multiplication of a
number into itself; as, a square is the second power, and
a cube is third power, of a number.

10. (Metaph.) Mental or moral ability to act; one of the
faculties which are possessed by the mind or soul; as,
the power of thinking, reasoning, judging, willing,
fearing, hoping, etc. --I. Watts.

The guiltiness of my mind, the sudden surprise of
my powers, drove the grossness . . . into a
received belief. --Shak.

11. (Optics) The degree to which a lens, mirror, or any
optical instrument, magnifies; in the telescope, and
usually in the microscope, the number of times it
multiplies, or augments, the apparent diameter of an
object; sometimes, in microscopes, the number of times it
multiplies the apparent surface.

12. (Law) An authority enabling a person to dispose of an
interest vested either in himself or in another person;
ownership by appointment. --Wharton.

13. Hence, vested authority to act in a given case; as, the
business was referred to a committee with power.

Note: Power may be predicated of inanimate agents, like the
winds and waves, electricity and magnetism,
gravitation, etc., or of animal and intelligent beings;
and when predicated of these beings, it may indicate
physical, mental, or moral ability or capacity.

Mechanical powers. See under Mechanical.

Power loom, or Power press. See Def. 8
(d), note.

Power of attorney. See under Attorney.

Power of a point (relative to a given curve) (Geom.), the
result of substituting the co["o]rdinates of any point in
that expression which being put equal to zero forms the
equation of the curve; as, x^2 + y^2 - 100 is the
power of the point x, y, relative to the circle x^2 +
y^2 - 100 = 0.

Synonyms: ability, baron, big businessman, business leader, exponent, force, great power, index, king, magnate, major power, might, mightiness, mogul, office, powerfulness, superpower, top executive, tycoon, world power

Antonyms: impotence, impotency, inability, powerlessness

See Also: accomplishment, acquirement, acquisition, aptitude, attainment, body politic, businessman, capacity, cater, causal agency, causal agent, cause, cognition, commonwealth, control, country, creativeness, creativity, degree, discretion, disposal, drive, effectiveness, effectivity, effectuality, effectualness, electric power, electrical power, executive clemency, faculty, free will, hand, influence, influence, intelligence, interest, interestingness, irresistibility, irresistibleness, juggernaut, jurisdiction, know-how, knowledge, land, leadership, legal power, log, logarithm, man of affairs, mathematical notation, mental ability, mental faculty, module, Moloch, nation, noesis, oil tycoon, originality, persuasiveness, physical phenomenon, ply, potency, preponderance, provide, puissance, quality, reins, repellant, repellent, res publica, science, skill, state, state, steamroller, stranglehold, strength, superior skill, supply, sway, throttlehold, valence, valency, veto, waterpower, wattage

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