Horsepower is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower, but two common definitions used today are the mechanical horsepower (or imperial horsepower), which is about 745.7 watts, and the metric horsepower, which is approximately 735.5 watts. The term "horsepower" was adopted in the late 18th century by Scottish engineer James Watt to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses. It was later expanded to include the output power of other types of piston engines, as well as turbines, electric motors, and other machinery.
Horsepower is a measurement of how rapidly an engine can work. It is a figure used to measure the power of an engine and is often abbreviated as hp. In simple terms, its how much "work" the engine is capable of. There's more science behind a car's speed than sheer power, but it does have one of the biggest impacts on the overall performance of a car, in particular, its ability to accelerate. Though in the UK, the term "horsepower" is used when referring to the metric measurement, it has other names elsewhere, and there's a variety of other equivalent measurements too, including PS, which stands for pferdestarke in German, which literally translates to horsepower.
Horsepower refers to the power an engine produces. It's calculated through the power needed to move 550 pounds one foot in one second or by the power needs to move 33,000 pounds one foot in one minute. The power is gauged by the rate it takes to do the work.
