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
Over two decades, Redzepi has come to embody the institution, serving as both its mastermind and frontman—the equivalent, in Formula One terms, of Ferrari’s Frédéric Vasseur and Charles Leclerc rolled into one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 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
“This criminal mastermind, the one behind this elaborate scheme...”
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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
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
Ross and Matt Duffer, the sibling masterminds behind Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” are closer to finding out if they’ve achieved that in the eyes of the show’s fans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 25, 2025
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
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 new stage adaptation is being masterminded by Tilted Musicals, the production company run by Girls Aloud songwriter Miranda Cooper and producer Sam Hodges.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
After all, who hung out with Cap before he ever drove a bus, or masterminded a dance?
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
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
Whoever Benfica draw, few would rule out Mourinho masterminding something special at the Bernabeu or San Siro.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 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
Postecoglou lasted just two turbulent seasons as Tottenham boss before being sacked in June -- only 16 days after masterminding their Europa League final victory over Manchester United.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 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.
