brainpower: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C1Neutral to Formal
Quick answer
What does “brainpower” mean?
Intellectual ability or capacity.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
Intellectual ability or capacity; the collective mental ability of an individual or group.
Can refer to the total intellectual resources available within an organization, team, or society; a metaphorical quantification of thinking capacity.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage is nearly identical. Spelling is always one word. No significant lexical or grammatical variation.
Connotations
Slightly more likely to be used in business/innovation contexts in AmE; slightly more likely in educational/intellectual contexts in BrE, though the distinction is minimal.
Frequency
Roughly equal frequency in both dialects.
Grammar
How to Use “brainpower” in a Sentence
requires + brainpowerpool of + brainpowerapply + brainpower + to + problemlack + the brainpowermobilise/ze + brainpowerVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “brainpower” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- N/A – brainpower is not a verb.
American English
- N/A – brainpower is not a verb.
adverb
British English
- N/A – no direct adverbial form.
American English
- N/A – no direct adverbial form.
adjective
British English
- N/A – brainpower is a noun. The related adjective is 'brain-powered'.
- The brain-powered calculator solved it quickly.
American English
- N/A – brainpower is a noun. The related adjective is 'brain-powered'.
- It was a brain-powered initiative.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Refers to the collective intelligence of a workforce or team needed to solve complex problems, drive innovation, or gain competitive advantage (e.g., 'We need to harness all available brainpower for this project.')
Academic
Used to discuss cognitive resources, often in psychology, education, or sociology, when treating intelligence as a measurable or allocable resource (e.g., 'The study measured the brainpower applied to logical puzzles.')
Everyday
Used informally to comment on someone's intelligence or the mental effort required for a task (e.g., 'This crossword is going to take some serious brainpower.')
Technical
Rare in hard sciences; occasionally used in computing/AI by analogy to human cognition (e.g., 'The project simulates distributed brainpower.')
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “brainpower”
- Using it as a countable noun (e.g., 'He has many brainpowers'). It is uncountable.
- Confusing it with 'brainstorming', which is an activity, not the capacity itself.
- Misspelling as two words ('brain power'). Standard spelling is one word.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is neutral but leans towards formal or semi-formal contexts, especially in business and academia. In casual speech, synonyms like 'brains' or 'smarts' are more common.
Yes, it can refer to the intellectual capacity of an individual (e.g., 'her considerable brainpower') or, more commonly, to the collective intelligence of a group.
'Intelligence' is a more general, abstract quality. 'Brainpower' often implies a measurable or applicable resource, an amount of intelligence that can be deployed or utilised to achieve a specific aim.
Yes, as it is treated as an uncountable resource, you can use quantifiers like 'more', 'less', 'enough', 'a lot of' brainpower.
Intellectual ability or capacity.
Brainpower: in British English it is pronounced /ˈbreɪnˌpaʊə/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈbreɪnˌpaʊər/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Pool your brainpower.”
- “A meeting of brainpower.”
- “Not for lack of brainpower.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of your BRAIN as the engine, and its POWER is how hard it can think. Brain + Power = Thinking Power.
Conceptual Metaphor
MIND IS A RESOURCE / INTELLIGENCE IS A QUANTIFIABLE FORCE
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 'brainpower' LEAST likely to be used appropriately?