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Synonyms

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

master of ceremonies British  

noun

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

"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

Etymology

Origin of master of ceremonies

First recorded in 1655–65

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.

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

Ravi bears an eerie resemblance to John on the day of the Super Bowl, when we gather at Michelle’s Topanga home for an ashram service for which Alice’s voice is the master of ceremonies.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2025

As the dedication ceremony continued at the Apollo, the master of ceremonies, activist-entertainer Harry Belafonte—yet another childhood “uncle”—framed the importance of this historic moment for the audience assembled.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

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.