taskmaster
Americannoun
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a person whose function it is to assign tasks, especially burdensome ones, to others.
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a person who supervises rigorously the work of others.
noun
Other Word Forms
- taskmastership noun
- taskmistress noun
Etymology
Origin of taskmaster
Explanation
A taskmaster is someone who makes you work very hard — maybe too hard. If your parents tell you and your siblings to shovel the driveway after a blizzard, even though it's freezing outside, they're definitely taskmasters. Anyone who imposes a task, or job, might be described as a taskmaster. The term usually refers to someone who forces workers to do especially harsh tasks. In A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is a taskmaster who makes Bob Cratchett work late on Christmas Eve. And a soccer coach who pushes her players extra hard could also be described as a taskmaster. Dating from the 16th century, taskmaster comes from Latin roots meaning "labor" and "director."
Vocabulary lists containing taskmaster
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.
An AI-generated image soon circulated of Underwood’s familiar scowl—only this time, he was wearing an orange tracksuit in front of an Soviet-style apartment complex looking every bit an Eastern bloc taskmaster.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026
At the FBI, he gained a reputation of being an exacting taskmaster and, despite his early Republican political alignment, someone who was appreciated by politicians of both political parties.
From Barron's • Mar. 21, 2026
Wife Sharon played the taskmaster, keeping everything in line.
From Salon • Jul. 24, 2025
Despite his hard taskmaster approach, "likeability was important to him", one former employee said.
From BBC • Jun. 20, 2025
It was during this period that Ernest acquired the reputation of a relentless taskmaster in command of a growing brigade; the recurring term in personal reminiscences of the Rad Lab is “slave driver.”
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
