- power
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 authority/controlADJECTIVE▪ absolute, ultimate▪ considerable, enormous, tremendous▪ real▪
The emperor held no real power.
▪ limited▪ arbitrary▪ economic, legal, legislative, political▪ corporate▪ executive▪He sits on the board but has no executive power.
▪ veto▪ popular▪ secular▪ federal▪ imperial▪ higher▪belief in a higher power
VERB + POWER▪ come to, rise to▪When did this government come to power?
▪ assume, gain, get, seize, take▪The prince assumed power in his father's place.
▪ return to▪ 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▪ demonstrate, show▪ abuse▪ confer, give sb, grant sb▪certain powers that were granted to the government
▪ limit▪ lack▪ fall from, lose▪They fell from power in 1992.
▪ give up, relinquish, renounce▪ delegate, devolve (esp. BrE)▪Some states delegate police power to municipalities.
POWER + VERB▪ be concentrated in (the hands of sb/sth), flow from sb/sth, lie with sb/sth, rest with sb/sth▪The real legislative power still rests with the lower chamber.
POWER + NOUN▪ struggle▪Who will get the upper hand in this power struggle?
▪ relations, structure▪ base▪The party's power base is in the industrial north of the country.
▪ brokerPREPOSITION▪ in power▪the party in power
▪ in sb's power▪They held us in their power.
▪ power of▪the power of veto
▪ power 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 First Lady is the power behind the throne.
▪ a transfer of power▪the transfer of power from a military to a civilian government
2 ability to do sthADJECTIVE▪ air, combat, military, naval, sea (esp. BrE)▪an increase in China's air power
▪ fire▪weapons with enormous fire power
▪ bargaining▪ computing, processing▪ healing▪the healing power of sleep
▪ buying, earning, purchasing▪ staying▪Having served in four governments, he has the greatest staying power of any politician today.
▪ special▪ magic, magical, mystical, psychic, supernatural▪They believe he has supernatural powers.
VERB + POWER▪ have, possess▪ use▪ develop▪ increase, limit, reduce▪ lack▪ lose▪Religion is rapidly losing its power to shape our lives.
▪ underestimate▪Don't underestimate my powers of persuasion.
PREPOSITION▪ beyond sb/sth's power▪a task still beyond any computer's power
▪ in sb's power, within sb's power▪I'm afraid it's not within my power to help you.
▪ through the power of▪He wants to change the world through the power of prayer.
▪ powers as▪a tribute to his powers as a teacher
▪ power of▪her powers of observation
▪I lost my power of speech for a while after the accident.
PHRASES▪ at the height of your powers, at the peak of your powers, at the zenith of your powers▪In 1946 Dalí was at the peak of his powers.
▪ do all in your power, do everything in your power▪He did everything in his power to find us somewhere to live.
3 country with influenceADJECTIVE▪ great, major▪ world▪ foreign▪ allied, enemy▪ occupying▪ victorious▪ European, Western, etc.▪major European powers such as France and Germany
▪ colonial, imperial, industrial, naval4 force/strengthADJECTIVE▪ awesome, great, real, tremendous▪It was a performance of great power.
▪ raw▪the raw power of their music
▪ destructive, terrible▪the destructive power of a hurricane
▪ star (esp. AmE)▪She exudes star power whenever she's on screen.
5 energyADJECTIVE▪ 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, windVERB + 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 offPOWER + VERB▪ drive sth, run sth▪Wind power is used to drive the machinery.
▪ go off, go out (esp. AmE)▪She was in the elevator when the power went off.
POWER + NOUN▪ cable, grid, line, point (BrE), source, supply, system▪ tool▪Power tools make many jobs so much easier.
▪ plant, station (BrE)▪ worker▪ cut (BrE), failure, outage (AmE)▪ consumptionPREPOSITION▪ power for▪The generator supplies power for lighting,
PHRASES▪ a source of power{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}verbPower is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑motor
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
