Jump To:

• master
  master

  noun

  a person with the ability or power to use, control, or dispose of something.
• Master
  Master

  noun

  a title of address placed before the first name or surname of a boy

master

American  

[mas-ter, mah-ster] / ˈmæs tər, ˈmɑ stər /

noun

• masters
  plural

1. a person with the ability or power to use, control, or dispose of something.

   a master of six languages;

   to be master of one's fate.

   Synonyms:

   expert, adept

2. an owner of enslaved people, in the institution of chattel slavery; a slaveholder.

   Antebellum laws and codes in the South restricted the circumstances under which masters could free African Americans from slavery.

3. an owner of a pet or other animal.

   The dog waited at the end of the lane every evening to greet his master coming home.

4. Older Use. the male head of a household.

   As the oldest son, he felt a lot of pressure to act as the master of the house after his father’s passing.

5. Older Use. an employer of workers or servants.

   The valet unpacked his master’s luggage prior to his arrival.

6. Sometimes Master the dominant sexual partner in a BDSM relationship of unequal power.

7. a person eminently skilled in something, as an occupation, art, or science.

   the great masters of the Impressionist period.

8. a person whose teachings others accept or follow.

   a Zen master.

9. Chiefly British. a male teacher or schoolmaster.

10. a worker qualified to teach apprentices and to carry on a trade independently.

11. a title given to a bridge or chess player who has won or placed in a certain number of officially recognized tournaments.

12. a person holding this title.

13. Also called master mariner. a person who commands a merchant ship; captain.

14. a victor or conqueror.

15. a presiding officer.

16. an officer of the court to whom some or all of the issues in a case may be referred for the purpose of taking testimony and making a report to the court.

17. Christianity. the Master. Jesus Christ.

18. a person who has been awarded a master's degree.

19. a boy or young man (used chiefly as a term of address).

20. Also called matrix. an original document, drawing, manuscript, etc., from which copies are made.

21. Machinery, Computers. a device or process that controls another device or process operating in a similar way.

22. Recording.

    1. matrix.

    2. an audio disk or tape from which duplicates may be made.

23. Computers an original data file or disk from which duplicates may be made.

24. Also called copy negative. Photography. a film, usually a negative, used primarily for making large quantities of prints.

25. master of foxhounds.

26. Archaic. a work of art produced by a master.

---

adjective

1. being master; exercising mastery; dominant.

2. chief or principal.

   a master list.

3. directing or controlling.

   a master switch.

   Synonyms:

   cardinal, prime, primary, leading, main

4. of or relating to a master from which duplicates are made.

   a master recording;

   the master copy of a piece of software.

   The master film had been misfiled in the archives.

5. dominating or predominant.

   a master play.

6. being a master of some occupation, art, etc.; eminently skilled.

   a master diplomat;

   a master pianist.

7. being a master carrying on one's trade independently, rather than a worker employed by another.

   a master plumber.

8. characteristic of a master; showing expert skill, ability, or knowledge.

   The chosen design was a master achievement that still amazes architects, engineers, and scientists today.

   Synonyms:

   skillful, expert, adept

verb (used with object)

• masters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• mastered,
  past participle,  past
• mastering
  present participle

1. to make oneself master of; become an adept in.

   to master a language.

2. to conquer or overcome.

   to master one's pride.

   Synonyms:

   control, subdue

3. to rule or direct as master.

   to master a crew.

   Synonyms:

   manage, govern

4. Recording. to produce a master audio file, disk, phonograph record, or tape of.

   The producer recorded, mixed, and mastered the new album.

master ¹ British  

/ ˈmɑːstə /

noun

1. the man in authority, such as the head of a household, the employer of servants, or the owner of slaves or animals

2. 1. a person with exceptional skill at a certain thing

      a master of the violin

   2. ( as modifier )

      a master thief

3. (often capital) a great artist, esp an anonymous but influential artist

4. 1. a person who has complete control of a situation

   2. an abstract thing regarded as having power or influence

      they regarded fate as the master of their lives

5. 1. a workman or craftsman fully qualified to practise his trade and to train others in it

   2. ( as modifier )

      master carpenter

6. 1. an original copy, stencil, tape, etc, from which duplicates are made

   2. ( as modifier )

      master copy

7. a player of a game, esp chess or bridge, who has won a specified number of tournament games

8. the principal of some colleges

9. a highly regarded teacher or leader whose religion or philosophy is accepted by followers

10. a graduate holding a master's degree

11. the chief executive officer aboard a merchant ship

12. a person presiding over a function, organization, or institution

13. a male teacher

14. an officer of the Supreme Court of Judicature subordinate to a judge

15. the superior person or side in a contest

16. a machine or device that operates to control a similar one

17. (often capital) the heir apparent of a Scottish viscount or baron

18. (modifier) overall or controlling

    master plan

19. (modifier) designating a device or mechanism that controls others

    master switch

20. (modifier) main; principal

    master bedroom

21. informal the man of the house

---

verb

1. to become thoroughly proficient in

   to master the art of driving

2. to overcome; defeat

   to master your emotions

3. to rule or control as master

Master ² British  

/ ˈmɑːstə /

noun

1. a title of address placed before the first name or surname of a boy

2. a respectful term of address, esp as used by disciples when addressing or referring to a religious teacher

3. an archaic equivalent of Mr

---

master Idioms  

1. see past master.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• masterdom
  noun
• masterhood
  noun
• mastership
  noun
• submaster
  noun
• undermaster
  noun
• outmaster
  verb (used with object)
• masterless
  adjective
• unmastered
  adjective
• well-mastered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• masters
  plural

Participles

• mastering
  present
• mastered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• master
  simple
• masters
  simple
• have mastered
  perfect
• has mastered
  perfect
• am mastering
  progressive
• are mastering
  progressive
• is mastering
  progressive
• have been mastering
  perfect progressive
• has been mastering
  perfect progressive

Past

• mastered
  simple
• had mastered
  perfect
• was mastering
  progressive
• were mastering
  progressive
• had been mastering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will master
  simple
• will have mastered
  perfect
• will be mastering
  progressive
• will have been mastering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of master

First recorded before 900; Middle English maistre, maister, Old English magister, from Latin; akin to magnus “great”

Explanation

The original of something (like a recording) is the master. Masters are also experts in fields, from karate to painting. Master actors are brilliant actors: they've mastered the skill of acting: maybe they have a Master of Fine Arts degree. It takes a long time to master anything. The master is the head of a school. People with servants, pets, and (during a horrible period in our history) slaves were called masters. A master key opens many doors, and when you master something, you are extremely good at it. An A+ on a test shows you mastered the material.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

master Master masters mastered mastering

Maybe Evans is a trash-talking master after all.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

The Criterion Collection’s mammoth set of the director’s 13 features captures a master of American cinema and his singular stories of men caught up in systems bigger than themselves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Two paintings by impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir, stolen from a museum in southern France and later discovered hidden behind a wall, have sustained slight damage, prosecutors said on Monday.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

Rather than depending on one master switch, multiple neural circuits, hormones, and metabolic signals appear to help determine how age-related changes unfold.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

"Are you, by chance, that Sancho Panza to whom his master promised an island to govern?"

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

Child lived in the house for roughly four decades and filmed several of her later television shows there, including “In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs” and “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home.”

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026

But more news this month about allegations of fraud in the November failure of São Paulo-based Banco Master could change that.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

Now, the 1,643 runs to catch the Little Master look a little further away.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

When our instructor, Master Kim, paired us together for partner drills, I clenched my teeth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

But when old Master Nkrumah, age eighty-seven, had begun referring to the Greater Jungle as “her,” that had been the last straw.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

“I’ve had multiple phone calls from harbor masters and fire chiefs in Southern California over the past week, saying, ‘Why is the harbor flooding?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Then there's this, he said: AI models are getting better and better at detecting when they are being tested and might behave differently when they are actually deployed, fooling their masters.

From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026

In unpacking the new single title, Harper’s Bazaar suggested that maybe modern-day fame is the disease, and Swift the “early guinea pig” who has fought against sexism and re-created her own masters.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

After finishing her masters degree she now shares her recipes online, hoping to help other students in the same position she was in.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

The cameras, the eyes on us all the time, make us all masters of hiding the truth but force us to find creative ways to communicate with one another, too.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

Before cinema made him a familiar face, he spent years working in theatre, where he developed his gritty style of dialogue delivery and also mastered the intensity he brought to his on-screen characters.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

He was influential because he mastered the details of policy that could persuade others.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

For students who haven’t yet mastered a skill, it can be an obstacle to learning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen anything like that from a press secretary, but no one has mastered the dark art of hucksterism with Leavitt’s aplomb.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Bobby knew the basics of the opening but hadn’t yet mastered all of its intricacies.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

For Livia, who performs it for a university recital, it is her greatest triumph and a symbol of her hubris, because mastering it seems to presage a fall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

AI can also still be used for mastering songs and, for example, using drum machines and auto tune.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

After mastering the accumulation phase of your wealth journey, managing the distribution phase can get increasingly tricky.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026

“If you don’t test, how do you know if your students are mastering the concepts?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

But the next day, after mastering some new skill in my workout with Aimee, I’d change my mind back to home-school and an elite career.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

Related Words

• administrator
• boss
• commander
• director
• guru
• instructor
• judge
• manager
• owner
• ruler
• teacher