English

Alternative forms

• powerplay

Noun

power play ‎(plural power plays)

1. (ice hockey) In ice hockey, the situation where a team has a numerical advantage on the ice due to one or more penalties given to the opposing team.
2. (sports) A similar situation in other ball games such as lacrosse, indoor soccer, rugby and cricket.
3. (uncountable) Tactics used to magnify power or influence.
   • 2013 July 19, Timothy Garton Ash, “Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 18:

     Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.

4. (countable) A strategy or maneuver with a similar intention.

Derived terms

• (sports): PP (abbreviation)

Translations