power plant

American  

Or powerplant

noun

power plants plural

1. a plant, including engines, dynamos, etc., and the building or buildings necessary for the generation of power, as electric or nuclear power.

2. the machinery for supplying power for a particular mechanical process or operation.

3. the engine, motor, or other power source along with related ignition, transmission, etc., components of a vehicle, aircraft, machine, etc.

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power plant British  

noun

1. the complex, including machinery, associated equipment, and the structure housing it, that is used in the generation of power, esp electrical power

2. the equipment supplying power to a particular machine or for a particular operation or process

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• power plants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of power plant

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

power plant

Poland's first nuclear power plant is expected to go online in 2036.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

When plans by PG&E to build a nuclear power plant at heavenly Bodega Head triggered an uprising.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

In Switzerland, the Beznau nuclear power plant took both reactors of grid on Friday because the temperature in the River Aare reached 25C, which is considered too high to cool the reactors sufficiently.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

Yet carbon capture and storage had barely been tested, and no experts interviewed could recall a commercial power plant using it.

From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026

In its furnaces the power plant burned coal, and out of its chimneys black smoke poured day and night, blanketing the town with soot and making all the floors dirtier than ever.

From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien

Related Words

• power station
• station