man power

American  

noun

1. the power supplied by human physical exertions.

   an ancient building constructed entirely by man power.

2. a unit of power, assumed to be equal to the rate at which a person can do mechanical work, and commonly taken as 1/10 (0.1) horsepower.

3. rate of work in terms of this unit.

4. manpower.

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Etymology

Origin of man power

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

But the balcony solar products now being sold will shut off if they sense that the grid is down or the home’s main power is off.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

But Transnistria's main power plant in Kurchugan is already being fuelled by coal instead of Russian gas and the authorities say there's only enough of that for 50 days.

From BBC • Jan. 1, 2025

The outage is a symptom of Zimbabwe’s ongoing crisis, with daily 12-hour blackouts driven by a prolonged drought that is crippling energy generation at the Kariba Dam, the country’s main power source.

From BBC • Nov. 28, 2024

Mohammed, a 57-year-old in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahieyh - Hezbollah's main power base in the capital - told the BBC he had "survived all the wars since 1975" so "it's normal for me".

From BBC • Sep. 23, 2024

For a short time, I wondered how to splice the second battery's leads into the main power supply.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir