Meaning & use
high power
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnical
a large amount of electrical or mechanical power
Grammar: Uncountable when it means power in general: 'the high power of the motor'. Often used before a noun as 'high-power'.
Patterns
- high power consumption
- high power output
- at high power
The machine runs at high power for only a few minutes.
High power consumption made the device expensive to run.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
having or using a lot of power, especially electricity or magnification
Grammar: Written with a hyphen before a noun: 'a high-power drill'. It is not usually used after a verb.
Patterns
- a high-power engine
- a high-power laser
- a high-power microscope
They used a high-power laser to cut the metal.
A high-power microscope is needed to see these cells.
Common combinations
- high-power laser
- The lab bought a new high-power laser for experiments.
- high-power engine
- The car has a high-power engine but uses a lot of fuel.
- high power consumption
- High power consumption is a problem for portable devices.
- at high power
- The transmitter was operating at high power.
Synonyms and how they differ
- powerful
- A general adjective for strength or force; 'high-power' is more technical and often refers to electrical or optical power.
- heavy-duty
- Describes equipment built to do hard work; it does not necessarily mean high electrical power.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: high power or high-powered?
high power vs high-powered
This adjective means either 'very powerful' or, of a person, 'important and energetic'. 'High-power' is used mainly for machines and equipment.
Practice
The engineers tested the device at ______ power to see how hot it got.
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is 'at high power'. 'Highly' is an adverb meaning 'very', 'height' is a noun, and 'higher' would need a comparison that the sentence does not make.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “high power”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.