horsepower
Americannoun
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a foot-pound-second unit of power, equivalent to 550 foot-pounds per second, or 745.7 watts.
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Informal. the capacity to achieve or produce; strength or talent.
The university's history faculty is noted for its intellectual horsepower.
noun
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an fps unit of power, equal to 550 foot-pounds per second (equivalent to 745.7 watts)
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a US standard unit of power, equal to 746 watts
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The horsepower is used to measure the power of engines.
This term was coined by James Watt, who invented a new type of steam engine in the eighteenth century. Watt found that the horse could do a certain amount of work per second; when he sold his steam engines, this measurement allowed him to estimate the worth of an engine in terms of the number of horses it would replace. Therefore, a six-horsepower engine was capable of replacing six horses.
Etymology
Origin of horsepower
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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.
Horsepower and speed depends on how much ethanol is in the fuel.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 20, 2023
Horsepower equals grinding power and ranges from ⅓ to one hp.
From Washington Post • Feb. 14, 2023
Horsepower ranged from 140 in the trucks to 180 in the full-size cars.
From New York Times • Sep. 10, 2020
The current president and a charter member of the Riverside Trailblazers, Jeff Burg had been more heavily involved in his horse and carriage business, Horsepower Acres.
From Washington Times • Jul. 14, 2015
He is certain that he drove a "Horsepower Gin Wagon" during "slavery times", and that he was seven or eight when he drove it.
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Arkansas Narratives, Part 1 by Work Projects Administration
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.
