old master
Americannoun
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an eminent artist of an earlier period, especially from the 15th to the 18th centuries.
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a work by such an artist.
noun
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one of the great European painters of the period 1500 to 1800
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a painting by one of these
Etymology
Origin of old master
First recorded in 1945–50
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.
He is depicted relaxing, but the intensity of his gaze “gives it a menacing feel,” said Gregory Rubinstein, Sotheby’s head of old master drawings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
Brown partnered with Slater, who was as good as his word, improving on the Arkwright model and turning out yarn that his old master in Derbyshire—to whom Slater sent a sample—labeled excellent.
From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026
"A glorious painting by an old master would be too striking," she said.
From BBC ● May 7, 2025
Max’s father, Albert Heppner, was a Berlin-born art dealer specializing in Dutch old master paintings.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2024
The sound of the old master baker weeping in the back kitchen.”
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
