puppet master
Americannoun
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a puppeteer; a person who puts on a puppet show.
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a person who secretly controls the actions of another, often through manipulation.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
"I believe Neil Foden is like a puppet master, a master manipulator," he said.
From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025
The humanoid bot can do the dishes, clean and fold laundry, but for now it also requires a human puppet master.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
Last year’s grand marshal was puppet master Sid Krofft, one half of Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2025
During a recent podcast episode, Rogan said, “Whoever’s helping her, whoever’s coaching her, whoever’s the puppet master running the strings . . . ” finishing his thought with a chef's kiss gesture.
From Salon • Sep. 18, 2024
Then as if a puppet master had rotated their heads at exactly the same moment, they faced each other and both started talking at once.
From "The Landry News" by Andrew Clements
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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.