master of ceremonies

American  

noun

1. a person who directs the entertainment at a party, dinner, nightclub, radio or television broadcast, or the like, acting as host and introducing the speakers or performers. M.C., MC

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master of ceremonies British  

noun

1.  MC.  a person who presides over a public ceremony, formal dinner, or entertainment, introducing the events, performers, etc

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Etymology

Origin of master of ceremonies

First recorded in 1655–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

master of ceremonies

“I cannot wait to get on the D Line to Beverly Hills and get my Botox treatments,” said actor Jerry O’Connell, who served as the master of ceremonies for the D Line event.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026

Mr. Stace is a novelist, a singer-songwriter and the master of ceremonies of Wesley Stace’s Cabinet of Wonders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026

Pap, as he liked to be called, presided as master of ceremonies.

From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026

For the uninitiated, “Cabaret” begins with a marionette-like male character named the Emcee, the omnipresent master of ceremonies of an underground Kit Kat Club in 1931 Berlin, smiling into a warped mirror.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2025

They asked me to be master of ceremonies.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

Related Words

• emcee
• moderator
• ringmaster