master sergeant

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noun

Army, Air Force, Marine Corps. a noncommissioned officer ranking next to the highest noncommissioned officer.

U.S. Air Force. a noncommissioned officer of one of the three top enlisted grades.

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Origin of master sergeant

First recorded in 1930–35

Words nearby master sergeant

master point, master policy, master race, Masters, master's degree, master sergeant, mastership, mastersinger, master-slave manipulator, Masterson, masterstroke

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use master sergeant in a sentence

His personal assistant was a master sergeant, his chef —or the guy who cooked us lunch—was enlisted, his office manager was a command sergeant major, and the cohost of his podcast is a former Navy Seal.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal Would Have Done Things Differently in Afghanistan|Belinda Luscombe|October 5, 2021|Time
“Stay in formation,” a sergeant from the ceremonial unit said over a public address system to the cops along the street.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss|Michael Daly|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And that gets to the heart of what makes the game so incredible: By staying silent, it turns the player into the game master.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Prince may have pranced around like a carefree libertine onstage, but in rehearsal he was more drill sergeant than sprite.
Speed Read: The Juiciest Bits From the History of ‘Purple Rain’|Jennie Yabroff|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST

While the desk sergeant ran a background check, he was roughed up by another officer in the lock-up.
What Would Happen if I Got in White Cop’s Face?|Goldie Taylor|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dickens was a master of heart-wrenching pathos because he felt every pain as he wrote.
How Dickens and Scrooge Saved Christmas|Clive Irving|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And with some expressions of mutual good-will and interest, master and man separated.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
The "bad form" of telling a lie to the head-master is a later illustration of the same thing.
Children's Ways|James Sully
Here and there exceptional industry or extraordinary capacity raised the artisan to wealth and turned the "man" into the "master."
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
Why should not Aristide, past master in drumming, find an honourable position in the orchestra of the Tournée Gulland?
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
Napoleon landed at Elba at an early hour in disguise, with a sergeant's company of marines.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell

British Dictionary definitions for master sergeant

master sergeant

noun

a senior noncommissioned officer in the US Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps and certain other military forces, ranking immediately below the most senior noncommissioned rank

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