horse power

noun

Any of a class of machines that used draft horses as a source of power to an output shaft or sheave. Treadmill types and merry-go-round–like types existed.

“In that era, they powered their corn sheller and their thresher with a horse power.”

Similar
horse engine
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Meanings

nounhorse power (plural horse powers)

plural horse powers

  1. dialectalhistoricalAny of a class of machines that used draft horses as a source of power to an output shaft or sheave. Treadmill types and merry-go-round–like types existed.

    In that era, they powered their corn sheller and their thresher with a horse power.

    Synonyms: horse engine

  2. alternativearchaicAlternative spelling of horsepower (“unit of power equaling 745 watts or similar figure”).
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: motive effort supplied by one or more horses.

    In the 1920s through 1940s, the push for power farming aimed to replace horse power with tractor power on the farm.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAny of a class of machines that used draft horses as a source of power to an output shaft or sheave. Treadmill types and merry-go-round–like types existed.

Similar
horse engine
Also see
horse engine
Cite this entry
APA

horse power. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/horse%20power

MLA

“horse power.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/horse%20power. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “horse power,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/horse%20power.

Source: horse power on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.