Meaning & use
power plants
Last updated
“power plants” is a form of “power plant”.
Meanings
nounplural
Large industrial facilities that produce electricity by burning fuel, splitting atoms, or using wind, water or sunlight.
Grammar: Plural of power plant: a power plant, two power plants.
Patterns
- a power plant in somewhere
- power plants that burn something
Coal power plants are being closed across the region.
Nuclear power plants need large amounts of water for cooling.
Several new solar power plants opened in the desert last year.
nounpluraltechnical
The engines and machinery that supply driving force to a ship, aircraft or large vehicle.
Grammar: A more technical sense, usually singular: the aircraft's power plant.
Patterns
- the power plant of something
The ship's power plants were upgraded to burn cleaner fuel.
Engineers tested the aircraft's power plants on the ground.
Two power plants drive the new ferry.
Word forms
| singular | power plant |
|---|
Common combinations
- coal-fired power plants
- Coal-fired power plants release large amounts of carbon dioxide.
- nuclear power plants
- Nuclear power plants run for decades.
- build power plants
- The government plans to build power plants near the coast.
- shut down power plants
- They had to shut down power plants during the storm.
- power plants generate electricity
- Power plants generate electricity for millions of homes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- power stations
- Power stations means the same but is the usual British term.
- generating stations
- Generating stations is more formal and used in engineering or utility reports.
- utility plants
- Utility plants stresses that a public company runs them.
- plants
- Plants alone is a short form and only works if the context is clearly industry, not gardening.
Word family
- power noun
- energy used to run machines or supply electricity
- powerhouse noun
- a building with generators, or a very strong person or group
- power grid noun
- the network that carries electricity to users
- power station noun
- the British term for power plant
Commonly confused: power plants or power plants vs. houseplants?
power plants vs power plants vs. houseplants
Power plants are factories that make electricity, while houseplants are living plants grown indoors.
Practice
Many countries are replacing coal-burning power ___ with wind and solar farms.
Choose one answer.
Power plants are facilities that produce electricity. Poles and lines carry power but do not make it, and stages is not a term for energy sites.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “power plants”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.