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Definition of "horsepower" []

  • A unit of power in the U.S. Customary System, equal to 745.7 watts or 33,000 foot-pounds per minute. (noun)
  • The power exerted by a horse in pulling. (noun)
  • Informal Effective strength: political horsepower; computer horsepower. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "horsepower" in a sentence
  • "The term horsepower was coined by James Watt (1736-1819), the Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer renowned for his improvements of the steam engine."
  • "The term horsepower is a meaningless quantity; it is not a horsepower at all."
  • "He introduced the term "horsepower" and the metric unit of power is named after him."
Words like "horsepower"
hydraulic horsepower
kilowatt ma
mechanical horsepower