Definition of "power play" []

• Sports An offensive maneuver in a team game, especially in football, in which a massive concentration of players is applied in a certain area. (noun)
• Sports A situation in ice hockey in which one team has a temporary numerical advantage because the other team has one or more players in the penalty box. (noun)
• A strategic maneuver, as in politics, diplomacy, or business, based on the use or threatened use of power as a means of coercion. (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.