Meaning & use
hydroelectric power
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
Electricity produced by the force of fast-moving or falling water, usually at a dam.
Grammar: No plural; used like 'electricity'. You can say 'a source of hydroelectric power' but not 'a hydroelectric power'.
Patterns
- generate hydroelectric power
- hydroelectric power from rivers
- a source of hydroelectric power
Norway gets most of its electricity from hydroelectric power.
The new plant will generate hydroelectric power for 200,000 homes.
Hydroelectric power is renewable because rain keeps filling the rivers.
Common combinations
- generate hydroelectric power
- The turbines generate hydroelectric power all year round.
- renewable hydroelectric power
- The region relies on renewable hydroelectric power.
- hydroelectric power station
- They visited a hydroelectric power station in the mountains.
- source of hydroelectric power
- The river is a major source of hydroelectric power.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hydropower
- A broader term for energy from water, including power from tides or waves; hydroelectric power is specifically electricity.
- hydroelectricity
- Almost the same meaning; slightly more technical and less common in everyday speech.
Word family
- hydroelectric adjective
- Describing something that makes electricity from water.
- hydroelectricity noun
- Another word for electricity made from water.
Commonly confused: hydroelectric power or hydroelectric dam?
hydroelectric power vs hydroelectric dam
The dam is the structure; hydroelectric power is the electricity it produces.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
'Hydroelectric power' is uncountable, so it takes a singular verb and has no plural form. Option A uses 'are' incorrectly; option C wrongly makes it plural; option D is factually wrong because it comes from water, not coal.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hydroelectric power”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.