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Which power does the superhero Mister Fantastic have?

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power

American  

[pau-er] / ˈpaʊ ər /

noun

• powers
  plural

1. ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something.

   Everyone has the power to better themselves.

   Synonyms:

   capacity

   Antonyms:

   incapacity

2. political or national strength.

   The Second World War changed the balance of power in Europe.

3. great or marked ability to do or act; strength; might; force.

   Synonyms:

   energy

   Antonyms:

   weakness

4. the possession of control or command over people; authority; influence.

   Words have tremendous power over our minds.

5. political ascendancy or control in the government of a country, state, etc..

   They attained power by overthrowing the legal government.

   Synonyms:

   sovereignty, rule, sway, ascendancy

6. legal ability, capacity, or authority.

   the legislative powers vested in Congress.

7. delegated authority; authority granted to a person or persons in a particular office or capacity.

   a delegate with power to mediate disputes.

8. a document or written statement conferring legal authority.

9. a person or thing that possesses or exercises authority or influence.

10. a state or nation having international authority or influence.

    The great powers held an international conference.

11. a military or naval force.

    The Spanish Armada was a mighty power.

12. Often powers a deity; divinity.

    the heavenly powers.

13. Theology. powers, an order of angels.

14. Dialect. a large number or amount.

    There's a power of good eatin' at the church social.

15. Physics.

    1. work done or energy transferred per unit of time. P

    2. the time rate of doing work.

16. mechanical energy as distinguished from hand labor.

    The factory recently began using looms driven by power.

17. a particular form of mechanical or physical energy.

    hydroelectric power.

18. energy, force, or momentum.

    The door slammed shut, seemingly under its own power.

19. Mathematics.

    1. the product obtained by multiplying a quantity by itself one or more times.

       The third power of 2 is 8.

    2. (of a numberx ) a number whose logarithm is a times the logarithm of x (and is called the a th power ofx ). Symbolically, y = xa is a number that satisfies the equation log y = a log x.

    3. the exponent of an expression, as a in xa.

    4. cardinal number.

20. Optics.

    1. the magnifying capacity of a microscope, telescope, etc., expressed as the ratio of the diameter of the image to the diameter of the object.

    2. the reciprocal of the focal length of a lens.

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verb (used with object)

• powers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• powered,
  past participle,  past
• powering
  present participle

1. to supply with electricity or other means of power.

   Atomic energy powers the new submarines.

2. to give power to; make powerful.

   An outstanding quarterback powered the team in its upset victory.

3. to inspire; spur; sustain.

   A strong faith in divine goodness powers his life.

4. (of a fuel, engine, or any source able to do work) to supply force to operate (a machine).

   An electric motor powers this drill.

5. to drive or push by applying power.

   She powered the car expertly up the winding mountain road.

adjective

1. operated or driven by a motor or electricity.

   a power mower;

   power tools.

2. power-assisted.

   cars with power brakes and power windows.

3. conducting electricity.

   a power cable.

4. Informal. expressing or exerting power, especially in business; involving or characteristic of those having authority or influence.

   She dressed for court in hose, heels, and a conservative power suit.

   The corporate-sponsored lobbyists are fueled by power breakfasts of ice-cold orange juice and croissants.

verb phrase

1. power down to shut off.

2. power up to turn on.

idioms

1. power behind the throne, someone or something that has a great deal of influence and control despite lacking official status.

   Although the chairman is ostensibly in charge, his secretary makes all the decisions and is the real power behind the throne.

2. the powers that be, those in supreme command; the authorities.

   The decision is in the hands of the powers that be.

power British  

/ ˈpaʊə /

noun

1. ability or capacity to do something

2. (often plural) a specific ability, capacity, or faculty

3. political, financial, social, etc, force or influence

4. control or dominion or a position of control, dominion, or authority

5. a state or other political entity with political, industrial, or military strength

6. a person who exercises control, influence, or authority

   he's a power in the state

7. a prerogative, privilege, or liberty

8. 1. legal authority to act, esp in a specified capacity, for another

   2. the document conferring such authority

9. 1. a military force

   2. military potential

10. maths

    1. the value of a number or quantity raised to some exponent

    2. another name for exponent

11. statistics the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis in a test when it is false. The power of a test of a given null depends on the particular alternative hypothesis against which it is tested

12. P. physics engineering a measure of the rate of doing work expressed as the work done per unit time. It is measured in watts, horsepower, etc

13. 1. the rate at which electrical energy is fed into or taken from a device or system. It is expressed, in a direct-current circuit, as the product of current and voltage and, in an alternating-current circuit, as the product of the effective values of the current and voltage and the cosine of the phase angle between them. It is measured in watts

    2. ( as modifier )

       a power amplifier

14. the ability to perform work

15. 1. mechanical energy as opposed to manual labour

    2. ( as modifier )

       a power mower

16. a particular form of energy

    nuclear power

17. 1. a measure of the ability of a lens or optical system to magnify an object, equal to the reciprocal of the focal length. It is measured in dioptres

    2. another word for magnification

18. informal a large amount or quantity

    a power of good

19. (plural) the sixth of the nine orders into which the angels are traditionally divided in medieval angelology

20. (often foll by an infinitive) able or allowed (to)

21. under the control or sway of someone

22. the established authority or administration

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verb

1. to give or provide power to

2. to fit (a machine) with a motor or engine

3. slang (intr) to travel with great speed or force

power Scientific  

/ pou′ər /

1. The source of energy used to operate a machine or other system.

2. The rate at which work is done, or energy expended, per unit time. Power is usually measured in watts (especially for electrical power) or horsepower (especially for mechanical power). For a path conducting electrical current, such as a component in an electric circuit, P = VI, where P is the power dissipated along the path, V is the voltage across the path, and I is the current through the path.

3. Compare energy work

4. Mathematics The number of times a number or expression is multiplied by itself, as shown by an exponent. Thus ten to the sixth power, or 10 ⁶, equals one million.

5. A number that represents the magnification of an optical instrument, such as a microscope or telescope. A 500-power microscope can magnify an image to 500 times its original size.

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power More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing power

• corridors of power
• more power to someone
• staying power

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Synonym Usage

See strength.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterpower
  noun
• repower
  verb
• de-power
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• powers
  plural

Participles

• powering
  present
• powered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• power
  simple
• powers
  simple
• have powered
  perfect
• has powered
  perfect
• am powering
  progressive
• are powering
  progressive
• is powering
  progressive
• have been powering
  perfect progressive
• has been powering
  perfect progressive

Past

• powered
  simple
• had powered
  perfect
• was powering
  progressive
• were powering
  progressive
• had been powering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will power
  simple
• will have powered
  perfect
• will be powering
  progressive
• will have been powering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of power

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English poair(e), poer(e), poeir, power, from Anglo-French, Old French po(u)eir, poer, poor, noun use of infinitive poe(i)r, pooir “to be able,” from Vulgar Latin potēre (unrecorded), replacing Latin posse “to be able, have power”; cf. potent ¹ ( def. ), puissant ( def. )

Explanation

Someone with power has physical strength or they're in control of things. So a weakling who's in charge of a business still has a lot of power. Power comes from the Latin word potere, which means "to be able." But things with power are much more than able — they're able to exert a lot of force. "The powers that be" are those who hold authority, and "the power behind the throne" refers to the people who exert influence without being formally in charge. When used as a verb, power means "to supply with mechanical or electrical energy," as in a nuclear-powered submarine.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

power powers powered powering

Take back full funding for the BBC World Service, describing it as "the UK's number one soft power asset"

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Instead, the tech giant will help expand power generation at the plant and explore the possibility of adding new reactors there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

“I really believe in the power of the great American research universities,” Madigan said in an interview.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

The commitments run for five years, and the court will have the power to enforce them.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

Everything smells like avocado and blueberries, which are excellent for brain power but honestly not so excellent as a car fragrance.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Last month, the prime minister announced new powers for councils that will address the decline of the high street, including the amount of vape shops.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Rayner also said she plans to strengthen council powers to take over empty homes to meet the need for council houses and tackle homelessness.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Ironically for such a consequential theater, when the war began, in 1914, the central powers saw it as peripheral.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

This argument would essentially function as a variation on the so-called dormant commerce clause by inferring implied constitutional constraints on states’ sovereign powers.

From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026

Both powers were racing to build more bombs, faster planes, more powerful rockets.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

The platform, powered by a new dedicated mobile app, will eventually deploy AI agents to automate some routine expense management and accounts payable workflows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

The findings also provide new clues about the origins of two of bats' defining features: powered flight and echolocation.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

In August, he finished the Three Peaks Challenge in 22 hours and 30 minutes alongside his dad, powered by ham and cheese sandwiches, sour sweets and four months' training.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

The S&P 500’s latest trip back to near-record territory has been powered by a surprisingly small number of stocks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

The farm machines powered along, doing their jobs as usual, but they needed to be maintained and monitored.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

What’s powering this incredible, unprecedented run is Bitcoin, Bitcoin, and more Bitcoin.

From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026

Data-center employees are working an in-demand job powering the nation’s massive artificial-intelligence investment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Diesel is the economy’s workhorse fuel, powering heavy-duty vehicles and machinery.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Shelton had never beaten a top-three opponent until powering past Alcaraz - who was playing in his first tournament for almost five months - in an epic quarter-final which ended at 3:34am.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

I text Libby just as my cell phone is powering itself down—“stall, do whatever u need 2 do 2 stall, i got a callback”—but who knows if it goes through.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

Related Words

• authority
• clout
• influence
• jurisdiction
• law
• leadership
• management
• prestige
• privilege
• right
• rule
• sovereignty
• strength
• weight