masterpiece
Americannoun
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a person's greatest piece of work, as in an art.
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anything done with masterly skill.
a masterpiece of improvisation.
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a consummate example of skill or excellence of any kind.
The chef 's cake was a masterpiece.
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a piece made by a person aspiring to the rank of master in a guild or other craft organization as a proof of competence.
noun
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an outstanding work, achievement, or performance
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the most outstanding piece of work of a creative artist, craftsman, etc
Etymology
Origin of masterpiece
1570–80; master + piece, modeled on Dutch meesterstuk, German Meisterstück
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In his program note, Sharon quotes the doom-laden philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer as an inspiration for Wagner’s nothing-is-real masterpiece.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
Ridings had been thrust into the limelight with her Brit Award-nominated debut in 2017, celebrated for her rich, pure-toned vocals on ballads like Lost Without You and the summery pop masterpiece Castles.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
The play may be, he writes, a “boring” adaptation that “lays waste to a masterpiece of modern literature.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 satirical masterpiece “Dr. Strangelove” brilliantly parodied the lunacy of the nuclear threat during the Cold War.
From Salon • Mar. 10, 2026
On the contrary, our research serves only to affirm the portrait of Paul Revere as a masterpiece.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
