mastery

[ mas-tuh-ree, mah-stuh- ]

/ ˈmæs tə ri, ˈmɑ stə- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mastery ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural mas·ter·ies for 1, 4.

command or grasp, as of a subject: a mastery of Italian.

superiority or victory: mastery over one's enemies.

the act of mastering.

expert skill or knowledge.

the state of being master; power of command or control.

Nearby words

Origin of mastery

1175–1225; master + -y³; replacing Middle English maistrie < Old French

Related formsnon·mas·ter·y, noun, plural non·mas·ter·ies.pre·mas·ter·y, nounre·mas·ter·y, noun, plural re·mas·ter·ies.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mastery

Mark Twain famously said courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.
Rudy Giuliani on His 9/11 Bluff, the Museum Controversy and the Rise of ISIS|Josh Robin|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In most battles, the rounds focus on battlers tearing each other down or hyping their own mastery of battle skills.
America’s Poets: Battle Rap Gets Real|Rich Goldstein|July 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Here, the founder of the law and literature movement shows his mastery in bringing literature to philosophical bloom.
Liberals Need to Learn to Say No|Bernhard Schlink|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The high street purchases will reinforce perception of Kate's mastery of the common touch.
Kate Shops At Baby Gap For George|Tom Sykes|April 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Hilary Mantel has redefined the genre of historical fiction and her mastery of the novel form is magnificent.
Week in the Life of Dan Stevens, 2012 Man Booker Prize Judge & Downton Abbey Star|Henry Krempels|October 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The girl looked at him with a strange light in her eyes—scorn, pity, and self-will struggling together for the mastery.
Lochinvar|S. R. Crockett
From within came voices, one in protest, Bayne Trevors's ringing out, filled with mastery followed by a laugh.
Judith of Blue Lake Ranch|Jackson Gregory
Then commenced the most exciting struggle for mastery between brute and man that the boys had ever seen.
Bert Wilson in the Rockies|J. W. Duffield
He was a wilful roamer in literature and the world, who attained to no mastery except over words.
George Borrow|Edward Thomas
The steers snuffed and licked their lips as do such animals where fear and curiosity is struggling in them for the mastery.
Tales from the X-bar Horse Camp|Will C. Barnes

British Dictionary definitions for mastery

mastery

/ (ˈmɑːstərɪ) /

noun plural -teries

full command or understanding of a subject

outstanding skill; expertise

the power of command; control

victory or superiority

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mastery

mastery

early 13c., mesterie, "condition of being a master," also "superiority, victory;" from Old French maistrie, from maistre "master" (see master (n.)). Meaning "intellectual command" (of a topic, etc.) is from 1660s.

mastery

noun, plural mas·ter·ies for 1, 4.

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Nearby words

Origin of mastery

Examples from the Web for mastery

mastery

noun plural -teries

mastery