hydropower

IPA/ˈhaɪdrəʊpaʊə(r)/
KK[hˈaɪdropˌaʊr]IPA/ˈhaɪdrəʊpaʊər/

hydropower — noun

1. electric power made when flowing or falling water turns machines that generate e

1.nounB2
Definition

electric power made when flowing or falling water turns machines that generate electricity

Example

The mountain town gets most of its hydropower from a nearby dam.

get hydropower from + dam

Nila studied how hydropower could supply electricity to remote villages.

Common collocations
  • hydropower plant
  • hydropower station
  • hydropower output
  • hydropower project
  • hydropower supply
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

generate hydropower

get hydropower from + dam/river

Usage Note

Usually uncountable. It can refer to the electricity itself or to the method of producing electricity from moving water, depending on the sentence.

Common Mistakes

The valley depends on many hydropowers.
The valley depends on hydropower from several dams.
'Hydropower' is usually uncountable, even when more than one dam produces it.
The government repaired the hydropower after the storm.
The government repaired the hydropower plant after the storm.
'Hydropower' names the electricity or energy source, not the building.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Hydropower and hydroelectricity usually refer to electricity made from moving water, and many writers use them almost interchangeably. Hydroelectricity often sounds a little more technical, while hydroelectric power is the fuller form common in reports, policy writing, and engineering talk. Water power is broader: it can mean the force of moving water in general, not only the electricity generated from it. Renewable energy is broader still, because it also includes solar, wind, and other non-fossil sources. So a town that gets electricity from a dam uses hydropower, but a national plan may simply promise more renewable energy without naming which source.

hydroelectricity ↗hydroelectric powerwater powerrenewable energy

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • generate hydropower
  • depend on hydropower
  • switch to hydropower

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekEnglish

Hydropower combines hydro-, from Greek hydor meaning 'water', with power. In modern English it came to mean electricity or usable energy produced when moving water turns turbines, especially in dams and river plants.

First known use

1933

1933, in the meaning defined above