A power is an exponent to which a given quantity is raised. The expression x^a is therefore known as "x to the ath power." A number of powers of x are plotted above (cf. Derbyshire 2004, pp. 68 and 73). The power may be an integer, real number, or complex number.
An expression that represents repeated multiplication of the same factor is called a power. The number 5 is called the base, and the number 2 is called the exponent.