powerhouse
Americannoun
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Electricity. a generating station.
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a person, group, team, or the like, having great energy, strength, or potential for success.
noun
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an electrical generating station or plant
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informal a forceful or powerful person or thing
Usage
What does powerhouse mean? A powerhouse is a powerful, forceful, or dominant person, group, or thing. In a literal sense, a powerhouse is a station or plant that generates electricity. Although it can still be used this way, terms like power plant and power station are much more common. Powerhouse is far more commonly used in the figurative way, especially in context of sports and business. Example: Because they always win, they can always recruit the best players, which makes them a perennial powerhouse in the conference.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of powerhouse
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She eventually earned a place in the Under-15 side of Corinthians, a powerhouse of South American women's football with six Copa Libertadores titles.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
And that’s not counting on Canada, the other energy powerhouse next door and a close U.S. ally, Stuart added.
From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026
Last week, Paramount hired powerhouse antitrust attorney Jeffrey Kessler to help defend its proposed takeover of Warner, which owns CNN, TBS, HBO and the prestigious Burbank film and television studios.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
Kim Jong Un, who like his father is known for his strong interest in sports, pledged to turn North Korea into a "sporting powerhouse" soon after taking power in 2011.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
Sure, I pictured myself on that television screen, wearing a bomb-fancy dress, tearing up the stage with some grand, powerhouse song, and in the end having the crown placed on my head.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
