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:
Johor police chief Ab Rahaman Arsad said authorities were working with Interpol to track down the mastermind behind the operations.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Keegan is one of the most transformational figures in Newcastle's history - the mastermind behind 'The Entertainers', who challenged for the Premier League title in 1996.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Soccer and the mastermind behind that World Cup — created for the 23 players who will wear the U.S. crest at home this summer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
Five Albanian nationals were arrested, including the suspected mastermind and owner of the call centre, who was remanded into custody pending trial.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
He liked her, even before he knew that this was the head chef and therefore the mastermind behind the lasagna.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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 general assured them he distinguished between the masterminds behind the uprising and soldiers ordered to carry it out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
The church had previous accused successive governments of failing to identify the masterminds behind the bombings.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
Adam Foltz, one of the masterminds of those very same Wisconsin maps.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2025
At long intervals some masterminds appeared, looking upon each advance in practical science as a retro-gradation in the true utility.
From The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 4 by Edgar Allan Poe
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
By comparison, the total illegal profit from the insider-trading scheme masterminded by hedge-fund titan Raj Rajaratnam was $53.8 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
The stunt, masterminded by director Jamie Lloyd, drew huge crowds to the concourse outside the theatre every night, and Zegler's performance was live streamed on a big screen to the audience inside the theatre.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026
Or this bit about Nick: “Everyone agrees that Nick Allen masterminded this plot that cleverly raises issues about free speech and academic rules. He is the boy who invented the new word.”
From "Frindle" by Andrew Clements
Ramírez considered herself one of the creative directors of the cohort, masterminding video shoots and making sure their social media marketing stayed consistent with the festival’s branding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
They square the circle of Swift masterminding a full-scale trolling of media and fans while simultaneously hosting a cotton-candy celebrity circus.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
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
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
It was a second victory for Japan against Wales with head coach Jones also masterminding the first in 2013.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 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.
