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power play

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noun

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

Origin of power play

First recorded in 1960–65
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for power play

power play

noun

behaviour or tactics intended to magnify a person's influence or power
the use of brute strength or force of numbers in order to achieve an objective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012