taskmaster

[ task-mas-ter, tahsk-mah-ster ]

/ ˈtæskˌmæs tər, ˈtɑskˌmɑ stər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR taskmaster ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person whose function it is to assign tasks, especially burdensome ones, to others.

a person who supervises rigorously the work of others.

Nearby words

Origin of taskmaster

First recorded in 1520–30; task + master

Related formstask·mas·ter·ship, noun

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

Examples from the Web for taskmaster

The words came in quick, gasping breaths, as a child might speak who tried to justify himself to his taskmaster.
Flaming June|Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
Blessed is the man who can have his library at hand, and oft peruse the books, without the fear of a taskmaster!
The Writings of Henry David Thoreau, Volume VI, Familiar Letters|Henry David Thoreau
It was as though Pharaoh had sent an embassy to Moses offering to make him a taskmaster if he would but return into Egypt.
The Oxford Reformers|Frederic Seebohm
Four summers ago Mike had resigned the "first gem of the sea" in order to assist in making hay for a Saxon taskmaster.
What Will He Do With It, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton

And man, subservient to interests he has persuaded himself are greater than his own, makes himself a slave to his taskmaster.
The Moon and Sixpence|W. Somerset Maugham

British Dictionary definitions for taskmaster

taskmaster

/ (ˈtɑːskˌmɑːstə) /

noun

a person, discipline, etc, that enforces work, esp hard or continuous workhis teacher is a hard taskmaster

Derived Formstaskmistress, fem n

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 taskmaster

taskmaster

1520s, from task (n.) + master (n.).

taskmaster

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of taskmaster

Examples from the Web for taskmaster

taskmaster

noun

taskmaster