Lexic.us

Definition of Horsepower

1. Noun. A unit of power equal to 746 watts.

Definition of Horsepower

1. Noun. A non-metric unit of power (''symbol'' hp) with various definitions, for different applications. The most common of them is probably the mechanical horsepower, approximately equal to 745.7 watts. ¹

2. Noun. A metric '''horsepower''' (''symbol'' often PS from the German abbreviation), approximately equal to 735.5 watts. ¹

3. Noun. Strength ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Horsepower

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Horsepower

1. 1. The power which a horse exerts. 2. A unit of power, used in stating the power required to drive machinery, and in estimating the capabilities of animals or steam engines and other prime movers for doing work. It is the power required for the performance of work at the rate of 33,000 English units of work per minute; hence, it is the power that must be exerted in lifting 33,000 pounds at the rate of one foot per minute, or 550 pounds at the rate of one foot per second, or 55 pounds at the rate of ten feet per second, etc. The power of a draught horse, of average strength, working eight hours per day, is about four fifths of a standard horse power. Brake horse power, the net effective power of a prime mover, as a steam engine, water wheel, etc, in horse powers, as shown by a friction brake. See Friction brake, under Friction. Indicated horse power, the power exerted in the cylinder of an engine, stated in horse powers, estimated from the diameter and speed of the piston, and the mean effective pressure upon it as shown by an indicator. See Indicator. Nominal horse power, a term still sometimes used in England to express certain proportions of cylinder, but having no value as a standard of measurement. 3. A machine worked by a horse, for driving other machinery; a horse motor. 4. A unit for measuring the rate of mechanical energy output. The term is usually applied to engines or electric motors to describe maximum output. 1 hp = 745.7 Watts = 0.746 kW = 2,545 Btu/hr. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Horsepower

Literary usage of Horsepower

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Steam Power Plant Engineering by George Frederick Gebhardt (1917)
"The horsepower of a Boiler.* — A boiler horsepower is equivalent to the ... Thus one boiler horsepower will furnish sufficient steam to develop about four ..."

2. The Making of America by Robert Marion La Follette, William Matthews Handy, Charles Higgins (1906)
"In the paper and pulp mills in New York, water power was used to the extent of 65052 horsepower in 1890, and 191117 horsepower in 1900. ..."

3. The Manufacture of Pulp and Paper: A Textbook of Modern Pulp and Paper Mill by J. Newell Stephenson (1921)
"In practical engineering calculations, it is customary to consider 1 horsepower as equal to 746 watts. Since the watt is rather small for a practical unit, ..."

4. Dyke's Automobile and Gasoline Engine Encyclopedia by Andrew Lee Dyke (1919)
"horsepower Abbreviations. horsepower.—This nowadays has nothing to do ... A motor rated at 1 horsepower is capable of doing 1 mechanical unit of work, ..."

5. International Library of Technology: A Series of Textbooks for Persons by International Textbook Company (1906)
"This value, 740 watts, is sometimes termed one electrical horsepower. 2O. The power exerted in any electrical circuit may now be expressed in horsepower ..."

6. The Mechanical Engineering of Steam Power Plants by Frederic Remsen Hutton (1908)
"The Cost of a horsepower. There will be two costs to be considered under this term; the one is the cost of the plant per horsepower to install, ..."

7. Government Owned and Controlled Compared with Privately Owned and Regulated by William Spencer Murray, Henry Flood, National Electric Light Association (1922)
"The available horsepower to the municipalities is therefore reduced by this amount and operating expenses credited to the extent of income received ..."

8. International Library of Technology: A Series of Textbooks for Persons by International Textbook Company (1902)
"horsepower is often abbreviated to HP 30. Indicated horsepower.— Th ~: indicator furnishes the most ready method of measuring the pressures on the piston of ..."

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