power

«power» in Mova's school dictionary: the ability or strength to do something or to make things… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (power, powers); verb (power, powers, powered, powering)

meaning for a pupil

1) Power is the ability or strength to do something or to make things happen. tree →

2) Power is control over people or things, like the power of a king. tree →

3) Power is energy, especially electricity, used to run machines. tree →

4) To power something means to give it energy so it works. tree →

5) In maths, a power is how many times a number is multiplied by itself, like 2 to the power of 3. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science and everyday life «power» often means electricity: a power cut, a power station, solar power, wind power; in safety, never touch power lines or poke things into power sockets. In maths, powers are written small and high: 2³ = 2 × 2 × 2 = 8; «squared» is the power of 2. In stories superheroes have special powers, and kings and queens have power. In history and citizenship, people vote to decide who has power. Phrases: «power cut», «in power», «do everything in my power».

examples

• There was a power cut, so we used candles. tree →
• The car is powered by electricity. tree →
• Solar power comes from the Sun. tree →
• Stay away from fallen power lines. tree →
• Her superpower is being invisible. tree →
• 10 to the power of 2 is 100. tree →
• The king had great power over the land. tree →
• I will do everything in my power to help. tree →
• In our time water has wonderful powers. tree →

note

Usually uncountable for energy and strength; countable for special abilities (powers). In maths, «to the power of 3» is not times 3: 2 to the power of 3 is 8, not 6. A «power socket» (UK) is an «outlet» (US). «Powerful» = having lots of power.

In the corpora

• One worker alone has little power, but many together are much harder to ignore.
• If the remote is lost, the power button on the TV itself, or on the wall, switches it off.
• He writes on the back of an envelope: food £45, bus fares £20, power £15.
• When money comes in, the must-pay bills (rent, power, food) come before treats.
• Banksy is a British street artist whose name and face are kept secret; his stencils often joke about war, money and power.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «power» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.