mastery
Americannoun
-
full command or understanding of a subject
-
outstanding skill; expertise
-
the power of command; control
-
victory or superiority
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of mastery
1175–1225; master + -y 3; replacing Middle English maistrie < Old French
Explanation
Mastery refers to having great skill at something or total dominance over something. If you are fluent in French, you have a mastery of the language. If you win every game of chess, you show a mastery of the game. Mastery is from master, who is someone knowledgeable about a subject, like a master painter. Masters are also people with power — butlers sometimes call their employer master. Mastery refers to a similar power or ability. Beethoven showed mastery in composing. Shakespeare displayed mastery in writing. Apple has had mastery over the field of computers and smartphones. Often, both senses are mixed: if someone has mastery over a field skill-wise, they probably have mastery in terms of dominance too.
Vocabulary lists containing mastery
Trumps
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Selection Vocabulary 4, Unit 5
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Vocabulary from Readings 2, Unit 3
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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:
Mr. Argue applies the same brilliant synthesis of influences and mastery of several musical idioms that has distinguished his own magnificent 18-piece Secret Society ensemble, but here carrying a less urgent, more subdued feel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
It wouldn’t surprise him if some employers expect AI mastery — especially with the technology’s ability to create and polish images.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
Ilaiyaraaja's mastery of the form helped disrupt those hierarchies.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
Whether in the films beloved by the Wu-Tang or the animated sagas Megan favors, characters battle not simply for survival but to achieve mastery.
From Salon ● May 31, 2026
Any message we receive from them is likely to begin "Dear Sire," and congratulate us on the handsomeness of our horses and our mastery of whale oil.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Away with your nonsense of oil and easels, of marble and chisels; except to open your eyes to the masteries of eternal art, they are hypocritical rubbish.
From Essays — First Series by Emerson, Ralph Waldo
"If a man strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully."
From Humanity in the City by Chapin, E. H. (Edwin Hubbell)
Every man that proveth masteries abstaineth from all things.
From The first New Testament printed in English by
"If a man strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully."
From Humanity in the City by Chapin, E. H. (Edwin Hubbell)
And to shew their agility, they tried many masteries vpon the ropes of the ship after our mariners fashion, and appeared to be very strong of their armes, and nimble of their bodies.
From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of The English Nation, Vol. XII., America, Part I. by Hakluyt, Richard
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.
