mast

1
[ mast, mahst ]
See synonyms for mast on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Nautical.

    • a spar or structure rising above the hull and upper portions of a ship or boat to hold sails, spars, rigging, booms, signals, etc., at some point on the fore-and-aft line, as a foremast or mainmast.

    • any of a number of individual spars composing such a structure, as a topmast supported on trestletrees at the head of a lower mast.

    • any of various portions of a single spar that are beside particular sails, as a top-gallant mast and royal mast formed as a single spar.

  2. Also called pillar. the upright support of a jib crane.

  1. any upright pole, as a support for an aerial, a post in certain cranes, etc.

verb (used with object)
  1. to provide with a mast or masts.

Idioms about mast

  1. before the mast, Nautical. as an unlicensed sailor: He served several years before the mast.

Origin of mast

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English mæst; cognate with Dutch mast, German Mast; akin to Latin mālus “pole”

Other words from mast

  • mast·less, adjective
  • mast·like, adjective
  • un·der·mast·ed, adjective

Other definitions for mast (2 of 3)

mast2
[ mast, mahst ]

noun
  1. the fruit of the oak and beech or other forest trees, used as food for hogs and other animals.

Origin of mast

2
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English mæst; cognate with German Mast “food”; akin to meat

Other definitions for mast- (3 of 3)

mast-

  1. variant of masto- before a vowel: mastectomy.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mast in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mast (1 of 3)

mast1

/ (mɑːst) /


noun
  1. nautical any vertical spar for supporting sails, rigging, flags, etc, above the deck of a vessel or any components of such a composite spar

  2. any sturdy upright pole used as a support

  1. Also called: captain's mast nautical a hearing conducted by the captain of a vessel into minor offences of the crew

  2. before the mast nautical as an apprentice seaman

verb
  1. (tr) nautical to equip with a mast or masts

Origin of mast

1
Old English mæst; related to Middle Dutch mast and Latin mālus pole

Derived forms of mast

  • mastless, adjective
  • mastlike, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for mast (2 of 3)

mast2

/ (mɑːst) /


noun
  1. the fruit of forest trees, such as beech, oak, etc, used as food for pigs

Origin of mast

2
Old English mæst; related to Old High German mast food, and perhaps to meat

British Dictionary definitions for mast- (3 of 3)

mast-

combining form
  1. a variant of masto-

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with mast

mast

see at half-mast.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.