superpower

plural superpowers

1. countableA sovereign state with dominant status on the globe and a very advanced military, especially the United States or formerly the Soviet Union.

   The year 1945 marked the end of Europe's global hegemony and confirmed the US and the Soviet Union as global superpowers.

   1999, David Held, Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture, page 97

   4 more examples

   Our superpower competition will be reunified Germany (perhaps together with its European satellites) and expanding Japan (perhaps allied with China, if they can bring that off).

   1990 February 5, William Safire, “Staying a Superpower”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   To return to the question posed in the title of this essay, it surely matters little to the victims of U.S. or Swedish fighter jets, bombs, or land mines that the manufacturer of their particular vector of death is globally hailed by some as a great economic/cultural/military superpower or a moral superpower.

   2018 May 8, David Jansson, “Deadly exceptionalisms, or, would you rather be crushed by a moral superpower or a military superpower?”, in Political Geography

   A notable aspect of Norwegians’ national identity is that they think of themselves as a ‘peace nation’ and a ‘humanitarian superpower’.

   2024 August 8, Kristian Bjørkdahl, “The humanitarian persona”, in National Identities

   Deals unveiled during US President Donald Trump's recent visit to the region showcased Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates' aspirations to become AI superpowers.

   2025 June 7, “Gulf states tussle to become AI superpowers using imported chips and talent”, in FT Weekend (Companies & Markets section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 8

2. countableAn extraordinary physical or mental ability, especially possessed by a superhero or supervillain.

   Administered in such a way, in that superpowers it assures.

   1994, C. J. Lee, Caldwell Lee the Poet to Be: The Forthright Omnipotence Era, Dorrance Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 46

   4 more examples

   This is his superpower, I think. The comic geek always has one, and Oliver's is a poker face that would leave even the Holy Trinity guessing what he's thinking.

   2014, Christina Lauren, Dirty Rowdy Thing, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 258

   If I could have a superpower id^([sic]) want to be able to teleport. I hate walking and driving gives me headaches.

   2021 December 6, Givinuplol, belugasareneat, “What superpower you would like?”, in reddit.com

   Trump’s superpower at home has long been to command intense loyalty from fellow Republicans.

   2025 August 7, Jonathan Lemire, “Things Aren’t Going Donald Trump’s Way”, in The Atlantic

   This is an incredible superpower on demand that would have been unimaginable at any previous time in history.

   2025 August 7, Sam Altman, Introducing GPT-5

3. obsoleteuncountableElectricity generated in a large plant that is tied into a regional network, on a larger scale than was common in the early years of commercial electricity production.
4. countableuncountablemathematicsA tetration.

   Synonyms: power tower · Antonyms: superlogarithm

5. uncountableExcessive or superior power.

present singular third person superpowers · participle present superpowering · participle past superpowered · past superpowered

1. transitiveTo give extraordinary powers to.