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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

master of ceremonies

According to The Times’ archives, he joined golf’s Celebrity Tour and was its permanent master of ceremonies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 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

“Thank you, Miss Trixie,” Mr. Gonzalez said quickly, like a master of ceremonies trying to end a variety act that had failed horribly.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

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Related Words

• emcee
• moderator
• ringmaster

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