powerhouse

[pou-er-hous]

noun

plural

powerhouses 

1. Electricity.,  a generating station.

2. a person, group, team, or the like, having great energy, strength, or potential for success.

powerhouse

/ ˈpaʊəˌhaʊs /

noun

1. an electrical generating station or plant

2. informal,  a forceful or powerful person or thing

Word History and Origins

Origin of powerhouse¹

First recorded in 1880–85; power + house

Example Sentences

Across the world, down under, the Australian Open shows off the country’s best culinary powerhouses courtside.

Read more on Salon

AFP looks at what the government in the regional powerhouse is doing.

Read more on Barron's

They look like a powerhouse, a unit that is focused on winning games and is desperate to put the last few years of finishing second in the Premier League to bed.

Read more on BBC

The island of Hokkaido has long been an agricultural powerhouse – now Japan is investing billions to turn it into a global hub for advanced semiconductors.

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They have even turned into powerhouses in lacrosse and fencing.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• active 
• adequate 
• compelling 
• competent 
• direct 
• efficient 
• forceful 
• impressive 
• potent 
• powerful 
• practical 
• successful 
• useful 
• valid 

When To Use

What does powerhouse mean?

A powerhouse is a powerful, forceful, or dominant person, group, or thing.In a literal sense, a powerhouse is a station or plant that generates electricity. Although it can still be used this way, terms like power plant and power station are much more common. Powerhouse is far more commonly used in the figurative way, especially in context of sports and business.Example: Because they always win, they can always recruit the best players, which makes them a perennial powerhouse in the conference.