power noun
1 authority/control
ADJ. absolute, ultimate | considerable, enormous | limited | arbitrary | economic, legal, legislative, political | popular | secular
VERB + POWER come to, rise to When did this government come to power? | assume, seize, take The Crown prince assumed power in his father's place. | restore sb to, return sb to | have, hold The court has no power to order a psychiatric examination of the child's parents. They held power for 18 years. | share | exercise, use, wield | confer, give sb, grant sb The new law delegates many of these powers to school governors. | fall from, lose They fell from power in 1992. | give up, relinquish, renounce | delegate, devolve
POWER + VERB be concentrated in (the hands of sb/sth), rest with sb/sth The real legislative power still rests with the lower chamber.
POWER + NOUN struggle getting the upper hand in a power struggle | base The party's power base is in the industrial north of the country.
PREP. in (your) ~ the party in power They held us in their power. | ~ of the power of veto | ~ over The government has limited legal powers over television.
PHRASES abuse of power, the balance of power The war brought about a shift in the balance of power. | a bid for power, the exercise of power, a position of power the father's position of power and influence in the home | the power behind the throne (= the person who is really in control) People say that the prime minister's wife is the power behind the throne. | power-hungry The company was too small to hold two such power-hungry men. | a transfer of power the transfer of power from a military to a civilian government
2 ability to do sth
ADJ. air, military, naval, sea an increase in Britain's air power | fire weapons with enormous fire power | bargaining | computing | healing the healing power of sleep | earning, purchasing | staying Having served in four governments, he has the greatest staying power of any politician today. | magic, magical, mystical, psychic, supernatural They believe he has supernatural powers.
VERB + POWER have | use | develop | lose Religion is rapidly losing its power to shape our behaviour.
PREP. beyond sb/sth's ~ a task still beyond any computer's power | in/within your I'm afraid it's not within my power to help you. | through the ~ of He wants to change the world through the power of prayer. | ~s as a tribute to his powers as a teacher | ~ of her powers of observation I lost my power of speech for a while after the accident.
PHRASES at the height/peak/zenith of your powers In 1946 Dali was at the peak of his powers. | do all/everything in your power He did everything in his power to find us somewhere to live.
3 country with influence
ADJ. great, major | world | foreign | allied, enemy | occupying | victorious | European, Western, etc. major European powers such as France and Germany | colonial, industrial, naval
4 force
ADJ. great | destructive, terrible the destructive power of a hurricane
5 energy
ADJ. full The plane was still climbing at full power. | reduced The transmitter is operating on reduced power. | electric, electrical, hydroelectric, nuclear, solar, steam, tidal, water, wind
VERB + POWER generate, produce They use these streams to generate power for the mill. | provide (sb/sth with), supply (sb/sth with) This wheel provides the power to the cutting machine. | use | harness | turn on | cut off, turn off
POWER + VERB drive sth Wind power is used to drive the machinery.
POWER + NOUN cable, line, point, supply | tool DIY grew in popularity with the advent of power tools. | plant, station | worker | cut, failure
PREP. ~ for supplying power for the grinding process
PHRASES a source of power
You can also check other dicts: power (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition