puppet master
Americannoun
plural
puppet masters-
a puppeteer; a person who puts on a puppet show.
-
a person who secretly controls the actions of another, often through manipulation.
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.
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
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
He explains: "It's like being a puppet master but without the strings. You're using this whole vessel to create something that you can't actually see. Someone else is going to do the work for you."
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2023
Asking if Beau’s mother was really the unseen puppet master in her son’s life is sort of like asking if Gregor Samsa really turned into a giant bug in Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2023
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
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.
