power play

noun

1. Football.,  an aggressive running play in which numerous offensive players converge and forge ahead to block and clear a path for the ball carrier.

2. Ice Hockey.

   1. a situation in which one team has a temporary numerical advantage because an opposing player or players are in the penalty box, and hence has an opportunity for a concerted, swarming attack on the opponent's goal.

   2. the offensive strategy or effectiveness of the team having such an advantage.

3. an action, stratagem, or maneuver, as in politics or business, by which power is concentrated or manipulated in order to subdue a rival or gain control of a situation.

power play

noun

1. behaviour or tactics intended to magnify a person's influence or power

2. the use of brute strength or force of numbers in order to achieve an objective

Word History and Origins

Origin of power play¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Hill said using troops domestically was a fascist power play, and “a bad thing for the entire country.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

While positioned as retaliation for recent U.S. export-control actions targeting Chinese tech companies, Beijing’s decision is a calculated power play, according to people familiar with the Chinese government’s decision-making process.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The problem is that all that talent can create something of a dilemma: There’s only room for five players on the top power play unit, three on the top line, one in the net.

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"It's about a broader power play - using state institutions to impose a particular version of identity, while silencing or sidelining anyone who doesn't conform."

Read more on BBC

Enraged by the power play, Democrats fled the state, depriving the Texas House of the quorum it needed to function.

Read more on Salon