mastermind
Americanverb (used with object)
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masterminds,
present (3rd person singular)
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masterminded,
past participle, past
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masterminding
present participle
noun
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masterminds
plural
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mastermindsimple
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mastermindssimple
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have mastermindedperfect
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has mastermindedperfect
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am mastermindingprogressive
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are mastermindingprogressive
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is mastermindingprogressive
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have been mastermindingperfect progressive
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has been mastermindingperfect progressive
Past
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mastermindedsimple
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had mastermindedperfect
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was mastermindingprogressive
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were mastermindingprogressive
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had been mastermindingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mastermind
Explanation
A mastermind is a brilliant thinker with original ideas. You might be a chess mastermind or a criminal mastermind: either way, people will not want to oppose you. Inventors, intellectuals, and famous geniuses call all be called masterminds, from Albert Einstein to theoretical physicist Dr. Shirley Jackson. You could also call people who are successful in their fields — especially if they come up with new ways of doing things — masterminds. Even a brilliant jewel thief might be called a safe-cracking mastermind. As a verb, to mastermind is to act as the leader of some complex plan or scheme.
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.
See Examples For:
The September 11, 2001 attacks were carried out by mostly Saudi hijackers and orchestrated by mastermind Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi who founded Al-Qaeda.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
A supply-chain mastermind, he is more likely to be touring manufacturing plants than spending time in Apple’s design studio.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
Goldberg painted Grant as the mastermind who, once caught, tried to minimize his involvement and turn over “a big fish” like Banks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Police said the theft’s alleged mastermind is already in custody.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
They sat at their table in the library, and James explained the mastermind code he’d come up with over the weekend, every so often looking over to where Maddie sat.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
The boys are not masterminds; the victims are not fools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
The church had previous accused successive governments of failing to identify the masterminds behind the bombings.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
The Envelope spoke to the masterminds behind three of this year’s most arresting campaigns to learn the secrets of their craft.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025
The movie will be directed by Dune's Denis Villeneuve and is currently in development and being overseen by Amazon MGM Studios after long-serving masterminds Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson stood down in February.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2025
At long intervals some masterminds appeared, looking upon each advance in practical science as a retro-gradation in the true utility.
From The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 4 by Edgar Allan Poe
Mr. El-Sayed has used Fight Agency, the consulting firm that masterminded the Mamdani mayoral campaign, for his digital and social-media strategy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
And then in 2024 he masterminded the Kursk attack -- the first sustained foreign incursion into Russia since WWII.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
A whole new genre of celebrity divorce: Slate’s Scaachi Koul considers how Bunnie Xo, an archetypical “Cool Girl,” seems to have masterminded a new strategy for getting divorced in the public eye.
From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026
Lampard has masterminded their revival since his appointment in November 2024, when the club were threatened with relegation into League One.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
“There is no comparison between Plutarch, who masterminded the rebel breakout, and those three beauticians,” says Fulvia icily.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Ramírez considered herself one of the creative directors of the cohort, masterminding video shoots and making sure their social media marketing stayed consistent with the festival’s branding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
They square the circle of Swift masterminding a full-scale trolling of media and fans while simultaneously hosting a cotton-candy celebrity circus.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Low is alleged to have gained his wealth after masterminding a scheme to steal billions from 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, a Malaysian sovereign-wealth fund.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Postecoglou lasted just two turbulent seasons as Tottenham boss before being sacked in June -- only 16 days after masterminding their Europa League final victory over Manchester United.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2025
Jacklin backed up that first win by masterminding a first away triumph by any team from this side of the Atlantic in 1987.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2025
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.
