mastermind
Americanverb (used with object)
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masterminds,
present (3rd person singular)
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masterminded,
past participle, past
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masterminding
present participle
noun
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masterminds
plural
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mastermindsimple
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mastermindssimple
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have mastermindedperfect
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has mastermindedperfect
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am mastermindingprogressive
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are mastermindingprogressive
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is mastermindingprogressive
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have been mastermindingperfect progressive
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has been mastermindingperfect progressive
Past
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mastermindedsimple
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had mastermindedperfect
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was mastermindingprogressive
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were mastermindingprogressive
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had been mastermindingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mastermind
Explanation
A mastermind is a brilliant thinker with original ideas. You might be a chess mastermind or a criminal mastermind: either way, people will not want to oppose you. Inventors, intellectuals, and famous geniuses call all be called masterminds, from Albert Einstein to theoretical physicist Dr. Shirley Jackson. You could also call people who are successful in their fields — especially if they come up with new ways of doing things — masterminds. Even a brilliant jewel thief might be called a safe-cracking mastermind. As a verb, to mastermind is to act as the leader of some complex plan or scheme.
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.
See Examples For:
But in a deposition, she said she was absolutely not the mastermind behind the now-defunct stephaniejonesleaks.com.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
Najib, 73, had a close relationship with Jho Low, the fugitive Malaysian financier and alleged mastermind of the scheme.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The September 11, 2001 attacks were carried out by mostly Saudi hijackers and orchestrated by mastermind Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi who founded Al-Qaeda.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
A supply-chain mastermind, he is more likely to be touring manufacturing plants than spending time in Apple’s design studio.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
“This criminal mastermind, the one behind this elaborate scheme...”
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
The boys are not masterminds; the victims are not fools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
Notably, First Light was the last project supervised by Bond masterminds Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson before they gave creative control to the franchise's new owners, Amazon MGM Studios.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Of the 32 apprehended, only two were convicted, Al-Saadi said, and they were little more than foot soldiers to masterminds of the operation who had already escaped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
The church had previous accused successive governments of failing to identify the masterminds behind the bombings.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
The boy who had thought of a mouse to turn his windmill had thought out some of the sublimest things in nature, and was henceforward to rank as one of the few masterminds of science.
From Famous Men of Science by Sarah K. Bolton
Mr. El-Sayed has used Fight Agency, the consulting firm that masterminded the Mamdani mayoral campaign, for his digital and social-media strategy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
And then in 2024 he masterminded the Kursk attack -- the first sustained foreign incursion into Russia since WWII.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
A whole new genre of celebrity divorce: Slate’s Scaachi Koul considers how Bunnie Xo, an archetypical “Cool Girl,” seems to have masterminded a new strategy for getting divorced in the public eye.
From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026
But the resignation was also the result of an internal power struggle between Gray and the man who would replace her: Morgan McSweeney, who had masterminded Labour's 2024 election victory.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
After all, who hung out with Cap before he ever drove a bus, or masterminded a dance?
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
Interim boss Carrick is making his case for the permanent job after masterminding an impressive turnaround since Ruben Amorim was sacked in January.
From Barron's ● Feb. 7, 2026
She defended Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, who were indicted for masterminding two of the biggest leaks of intelligence secrets in U.S. history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
The latest person to let down her guard was Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff who is credited with masterminding Trump’s 2024 win, and who has a reputation for discretion.
From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2025
Low is alleged to have gained his wealth after masterminding a scheme to steal billions from 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, a Malaysian sovereign-wealth fund.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
The boss of a sock-making company has been ordered to pay back more than £90m after masterminding a huge tax fraud.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2025
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.
