superpower

[soo-per-pou-er]

noun

1. an extremely powerful nation, especially one capable of influencing international events and the acts and policies of less powerful nations.

2. power pow power greater in scope or magnitude than that which is considered natural or has previously existed.

3. power, pow, power, especially mechanical or electric power, pow, power, on an extremely large scale secured by the linking together of a number of separate power pow power systems, with a view to more efficient and economical generation and distribution.

superpower

/ ˈsuːpəˌpaʊə /

noun

1. an extremely powerful state, such as the US

2. extremely high power, esp electrical or mechanical

Other Word Forms

• superpowered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of superpower¹

First recorded in 1920–25; super- + power

Example Sentences

When a criminal underestimates her as a “woman of a certain age,” she turns that invisibility into her superpower.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The boom that transformed America into an energy superpower owes to drillers boring through shale rock that yields prodigious spurts of gas.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

While he tempered his rhetoric days later, the outburst has led to tit-for-tat measures and warnings, raising concerns about the months-long truce between the superpowers that has provided some much-needed calm on trading floors.

Read more on Barron's

The unlikely U.S.-China collaboration during heightened trade and military tensions between the two superpowers is raising concern on Capitol Hill about national-security risks.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

TEL AVIV—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has emerged as a wartime leader of a regional superpower, who resisted enormous pressure to halt its two-year conflict with Hamas and inflicted severe damage on Israel’s enemies.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal