Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for past master

past master

noun

  1. a person who is thoroughly experienced or exceptionally skilled in a profession, art, etc.:

    a past master at chess.

  2. a person who has held the office of master in a guild, lodge, etc.


past master

noun

  1. a person with talent for, or experience in, a particular activity

    a past master of tact

  2. a person who has held the office of master in a Freemasons' lodge, guild, etc
“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


Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of past master1

First recorded in 1755–65
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

A person who is thoroughly experienced or exceptionally skilled in some activity or craft. For example, We're lucky to get Ella, because she's a past master at fundraising . This expression probably alludes to the original literal meaning, that is, one who formerly held the post of master in a lodge or other organization. Although past mistress was used for an exceptionally skilled woman in the mid-1800s, it is heard less often today, master serving for both sexes. [Mid-1800s]
Discover More

Example Sentences

I dared not trust myself to the seduction of his manner and voice—he was a past-master in the art of making love.

Among the fraternity “The American” was known as a clever crook, a man who was a past-master in the art of bluff.

As for his production of the play, it showed the old skill of a Past-Master of Pageantry.

No––neither was she like Lola of the Golden Cloud, past-master of men because she had belonged to many.

One soldier in particular was past-master in making savoury stews much appreciated by the others.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


past life therapypast mistress