power of attorney

/ˌpaʊə(r)əv əˈtɜː(r)niː/

//ˌpaʊə(r)əv əˈtɜː(r)niː// noun

"power-of-attorney" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“power of attorney” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
17
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The legal authorisation of one person to act as the agent of another.

Corpus desk

Index EN-power-of-attorney · power of attorney · English

power of attorney · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 17 letters
  • VOW-7 7 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for power of attorney
PropertyValue
Headwordpower of attorney
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌpaʊə(r)əv əˈtɜː(r)niː/
Letters17
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “power of attorney” in English

power of attorneyfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

power of attorney is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌpaʊə(r)əv əˈtɜː(r)niː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for power of attorney in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From attorney (“any personal representative”). Attorney now rarely has that sense outside of fixed expressions like this one. The correct English form is power of attorney, spelled P-O-W-E-R- -O-F- -A-T-T-O-R-N-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The legal authorisation of one person to act as the agent of another.
  2. 2
    A legal document allowing one person to act as the agent of another.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how power of attorney appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He confirmed that he had power of attorney.
  2. Here you can apply for a power of attorney.

Etymology

From attorney (“any personal representative”). Attorney now rarely has that sense outside of fixed expressions like this one.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "power of attorney"?
"power of attorney" is spelled P-O-W-E-R- -O-F- -A-T-T-O-R-N-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpaʊə(r)əv əˈtɜː(r)niː/.
What does "power of attorney" mean?
As a noun, "power of attorney" means: The legal authorisation of one person to act as the agent of another.
How do you pronounce "power of attorney"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "power of attorney" is /ˌpaʊə(r)əv əˈtɜː(r)niː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "power of attorney"?
From attorney (“any personal representative”). Attorney now rarely has that sense outside of fixed expressions like this one. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list