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:
A man tricking a hospital receptionist is not exactly a criminal mastermind.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 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 orchestrated by mastermind Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
But a quarter of a century on, the trial of its alleged mastermind is yet to begin and families of those killed fear that time for justice to be delivered is running out.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
They were looking for a mastermind; the thief had to live up to the theft.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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 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
You can't expect two masterminds like us to pig it in that room downstairs.
From Mike and Psmith by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
He became chairman in 2009, and masterminded the rise from League One and move into the American Express Stadium.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
That failure led to Arne Slot being sacked as Liverpool manager just 12 months after he masterminded the club's Premier League title triumph in his first season after succeeding Jurgen Klopp.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 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
“In on it? Little girl, I masterminded it.”
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
They square the circle of Swift masterminding a full-scale trolling of media and fans while simultaneously hosting a cotton-candy celebrity circus where an awkward wallflower finally, triumphantly blooms.
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
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
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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
