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• master
  master

  noun

  a person with the ability or power to use, control, or dispose of something.
• Master
  Master

  noun

  a title of address placed before the first name or surname of a boy

master

American  

[mas-ter, mah-ster] / ˈmæs tər, ˈmɑ stər /

noun

• masters
  plural

1. a person with the ability or power to use, control, or dispose of something.

   a master of six languages;

   to be master of one's fate.

   Synonyms:

   expert, adept

2. an owner of enslaved people, in the institution of chattel slavery; a slaveholder.

   Antebellum laws and codes in the South restricted the circumstances under which masters could free African Americans from slavery.

3. an owner of a pet or other animal.

   The dog waited at the end of the lane every evening to greet his master coming home.

4. Older Use. the male head of a household.

   As the oldest son, he felt a lot of pressure to act as the master of the house after his father’s passing.

5. Older Use. an employer of workers or servants.

   The valet unpacked his master’s luggage prior to his arrival.

6. Sometimes Master the dominant sexual partner in a BDSM relationship of unequal power.

7. a person eminently skilled in something, as an occupation, art, or science.

   the great masters of the Impressionist period.

8. a person whose teachings others accept or follow.

   a Zen master.

9. Chiefly British. a male teacher or schoolmaster.

10. a worker qualified to teach apprentices and to carry on a trade independently.

11. a title given to a bridge or chess player who has won or placed in a certain number of officially recognized tournaments.

12. a person holding this title.

13. Also called master mariner.  a person who commands a merchant ship; captain.

14. a victor or conqueror.

15. a presiding officer.

16. an officer of the court to whom some or all of the issues in a case may be referred for the purpose of taking testimony and making a report to the court.

17. Christianity. the Master. Jesus Christ.

18. a person who has been awarded a master's degree.

19. a boy or young man (used chiefly as a term of address).

20. Also called matrix.  an original document, drawing, manuscript, etc., from which copies are made.

21. Machinery, Computers. a device or process that controls another device or process operating in a similar way.

22. Recording.

    1. matrix.

    2. an audio disk or tape from which duplicates may be made.

23. Computers an original data file or disk from which duplicates may be made.

24. Also called copy negative.  Photography. a film, usually a negative, used primarily for making large quantities of prints.

25. master of foxhounds.

26. Archaic. a work of art produced by a master.

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adjective

1. being master; exercising mastery; dominant.

2. chief or principal.

   a master list.

3. directing or controlling.

   a master switch.

   Synonyms:

   cardinal, prime, primary, leading, main

4. of or relating to a master from which duplicates are made.

   a master recording;

   the master copy of a piece of software.

   The master film had been misfiled in the archives.

5. dominating or predominant.

   a master play.

6. being a master of some occupation, art, etc.; eminently skilled.

   a master diplomat;

   a master pianist.

7. being a master carrying on one's trade independently, rather than a worker employed by another.

   a master plumber.

8. characteristic of a master; showing expert skill, ability, or knowledge.

   The chosen design was a master achievement that still amazes architects, engineers, and scientists today.

   Synonyms:

   skillful, expert, adept

verb (used with object)

• masters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• mastered,
  past participle,  past
• mastering
  present participle

1. to make oneself master of; become an adept in.

   to master a language.

2. to conquer or overcome.

   to master one's pride.

   Synonyms:

   control, subdue

3. to rule or direct as master.

   to master a crew.

   Synonyms:

   manage, govern

4. Recording. to produce a master audio file, disk, phonograph record, or tape of.

   The producer recorded, mixed, and mastered the new album.

master ¹ British  

/ ˈmɑːstə /

noun

1. the man in authority, such as the head of a household, the employer of servants, or the owner of slaves or animals

2. 1. a person with exceptional skill at a certain thing

      a master of the violin

   2. ( as modifier )

      a master thief

3. (often capital) a great artist, esp an anonymous but influential artist

4. 1. a person who has complete control of a situation

   2. an abstract thing regarded as having power or influence

      they regarded fate as the master of their lives

5. 1. a workman or craftsman fully qualified to practise his trade and to train others in it

   2. ( as modifier )

      master carpenter

6. 1. an original copy, stencil, tape, etc, from which duplicates are made

   2. ( as modifier )

      master copy

7. a player of a game, esp chess or bridge, who has won a specified number of tournament games

8. the principal of some colleges

9. a highly regarded teacher or leader whose religion or philosophy is accepted by followers

10. a graduate holding a master's degree

11. the chief executive officer aboard a merchant ship

12. a person presiding over a function, organization, or institution

13. a male teacher

14. an officer of the Supreme Court of Judicature subordinate to a judge

15. the superior person or side in a contest

16. a machine or device that operates to control a similar one

17. (often capital) the heir apparent of a Scottish viscount or baron

18. (modifier) overall or controlling

    master plan

19. (modifier) designating a device or mechanism that controls others

    master switch

20. (modifier) main; principal

    master bedroom

21. informal the man of the house

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verb

1. to become thoroughly proficient in

   to master the art of driving

2. to overcome; defeat

   to master your emotions

3. to rule or control as master

Master ² British  

/ ˈmɑːstə /

noun

1. a title of address placed before the first name or surname of a boy

2. a respectful term of address, esp as used by disciples when addressing or referring to a religious teacher

3. an archaic equivalent of Mr

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master Idioms  

1. see past master.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• masterdom
  noun
• masterhood
  noun
• mastership
  noun
• submaster
  noun
• undermaster
  noun
• outmaster
  verb (used with object)
• masterless
  adjective
• unmastered
  adjective
• well-mastered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• masters
  plural

Participles

• mastering
  present
• mastered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• master
  simple
• masters
  simple
• have mastered
  perfect
• has mastered
  perfect
• am mastering
  progressive
• are mastering
  progressive
• is mastering
  progressive
• have been mastering
  perfect progressive
• has been mastering
  perfect progressive

Past

• mastered
  simple
• had mastered
  perfect
• was mastering
  progressive
• were mastering
  progressive
• had been mastering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will master
  simple
• will have mastered
  perfect
• will be mastering
  progressive
• will have been mastering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of master

First recorded before 900; Middle English maistre, maister, Old English magister, from Latin; akin to magnus “great”

Explanation

The original of something (like a recording) is the master. Masters are also experts in fields, from karate to painting. Master actors are brilliant actors: they've mastered the skill of acting: maybe they have a Master of Fine Arts degree. It takes a long time to master anything. The master is the head of a school. People with servants, pets, and (during a horrible period in our history) slaves were called masters. A master key opens many doors, and when you master something, you are extremely good at it. An A+ on a test shows you mastered the material.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

master Master masters mastered mastering

His scenes with Moore are a master class in how to find a character’s motivation — and a scream.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

When condo buildings can’t pay for or lose the master policy, it makes it tough to sell a unit because prospective buyers wouldn’t be able to qualify for a traditional mortgage.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Littleton Auctions is handling sale and say the tapes, recorded directly from the sound desk, form the only master archive of their kind.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

But as any viewer of his HBO series, “How to With John Wilson,” will know, he is a master, probably unequaled, of the art of the tangent.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

She doesn’t need to encourage me—I know right away that this is a world I cannot only control but master.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

But we know his wife, Viviane Barci de Moraes, had a three-year legal consultancy contract with Banco Master that was valued at around $25 million.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

But more news this month about allegations of fraud in the November failure of São Paulo-based Banco Master could change that.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

When our instructor, Master Kim, paired us together for partner drills, I clenched my teeth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Meanwhile on 6 March it posted a video which mixed footage of US military strikes in Iran with film and TV clips, as well a clip from Halo's protagonist Master Chief saying "finishing this fight".

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Lizza said, “I’m glad I’m not going. They say Master Watson is grouchy. Are you scared about going to school, Nat?”

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

Students who want to go "up the scale" will be allowed, Burke said, for example, if a student finishes a bachelor's degree and then wants to complete a masters.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

As I recall, a conversation with one of the school masters convinced me to try out for the football team.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Snyder rented out the house between 2022 and 2025 while he remained in Boston to get his masters degree, which not only covered his entire mortgage payment but also generated a profit each month.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

Clearly, the algorithm masters aren’t too precious about these throwaway texts; their core strategy will always be to embrace whatever seems to work best in the moment.

From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026

The masters of the House of Wu had turned into monkeys!

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin

Perhaps it was just as well he never mastered Gromit the Cat.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen anything like that from a press secretary, but no one has mastered the dark art of hucksterism with Leavitt’s aplomb.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

But the concept was not mastered until NBC’s “Today” introduced “Steals and Deals” in 2010 as an occasional segment that grew over time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

North Korea, which has mastered the art of stealing crypto through hacks and other cybercrimes, has used it to buy fuel and military equipment, officials say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

She attempted to rise; she could not have done so without betraying the agitation which mastered her at sight of him, so she fell back upon the stool, only exclaiming, “Why, Robert!”

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

AI can also still be used for mastering songs and, for example, using drum machines and auto tune.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

It provides a little aid, a little boost and a little fuel for inspiring some to get more serious about mastering a craft.

From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026

In 2015, researchers developed an AI agent capable of independently learning and mastering Atari classics such as “Pong” and “Breakout.”

From MarketWatch ● May 23, 2026

“We thought it would be very exciting and fresh for her to go to a school where she could focus on learning magic and mastering the powers inside her,” Gerber says.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026

But he was mastering the river, and he felt he was being guided.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

Related Words

• administrator
• boss
• commander
• director
• guru
• instructor
• judge
• manager
• owner
• ruler
• teacher