powerhouse

power +‎ house

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powerhouse (plural powerhouses)

1. A power station; the building housing a power station
   • 1986, Donald R. Froelich; S. K. Wagner, Fourth International Symposium on Hydro Power Fluid Machinery:

     The new powerhouse comprised two tube turbines with a total capacity of 4,500 kW under 18.3 feet head.

2. (figurative) Any source of power, energy or strength; a source of influence or inspiration

   The company has been a powerhouse in its industry for many years.

   Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.

   She's a powerhouse of ideas.

   • 2016 August 25, Fareed Zakaria, “What the Olympics reveal about the world”, in The Washington Post‎:

     The Soviet Union often led the world in the Olympics during the Cold War, and East Germany was an Olympic powerhouse — though athletes from both are now believed to have been systematically and massively doped […]

   • 2023 April 11, Kurtis Lee, “California Economy Is on Edge After Tech Layoffs and Studio Cutbacks”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     While the California economy maintains its powerhouse status, outranking even those of most countries, the state’s most-powerful sectors — including tech companies and supply chain logistics — have struggled to keep their footing, pummeled by high interest rates, investor skittishness, labor strife and other turmoil.

3. (card games) A very good hand of cards, likely to win.
   • 2011, Richard D. Harroch; Lou Krieger, Poker For Dummies:

     A hand like A-2-3-4 is a powerhouse in Omaha/8, because it can easily make the best low hand and capture half the pot.

• workhorse

• “powerhouse”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.