a heavy blow or a loud, explosive noise.
the power of exciting.
An Americanism dating back to 1880–85
First recorded in 1715–25; variant of poll 1
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The POW swaps remain one of the few remaining areas of cooperation between the two sides, at war since Russia ordered troops into its neighbour in February 2022.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Now the 25-year-old sits in a Ukrainian POW camp, his optimism replaced by barbed-wire fencing and snow-covered countryside that is unlike anything he grew up with in Senegal.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026
Jeff Weiss, editor of POW Magazine: You really have powerhouses coming out of this movement.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025
McCain was suffering from brain cancer and had dealt with a lifetime of health challenges due to his injuries as a POW in the Vietnam War.
From Salon • Nov. 18, 2025
They sent him to the infamous Changi POW camp in Singapore.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
