English
master
see also: Master
Pronunciation
  • (RP, Geordie) IPA: /ˈmɑːstə/
  • (Northern England) IPA: /ˈmastə/
  • (GA) enPR: măsʹtər, IPA: /ˈmæstɚ/
Noun
  1. Someone who has control over something or someone.
    • (Thucyd.)
      We are masters of the sea.
    • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […]”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: Printed by J. M[acock] for John Starkey […], OCLC 228732398 ↗, lines 415–420, page 83 ↗:
      Maſters commands come with a power reſiſtleſs / To ſuch as owe them abſolute ſubjection; / And for a life who will not change his purpoſe? / (So mutable are all the ways of men) / Yet this be ſure, in nothing to comply / Scandalous or forbidden in our Law.
    • When I have thus made myself master of a hundred thousand drachmas […] .
  2. The owner of an animal or slave.
  3. (nautical) The captain of a merchant ship; a master mariner.
  4. (dated) The head of a household.
  5. Someone who employs others.
  6. An expert at something.
    Mark Twain was a master of fiction.
    • 1693, [John Locke], “§189”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], OCLC 1161614482 ↗:
      No care is taken to improve young men in their own language, that they may thoroughly understand and be masters of it.
  7. A tradesman who is qualified to teach apprentices.
  8. (dated) A schoolmaster.
  9. A skilled artist.
  10. (dated) A man or a boy; mister. See Master.
    • 1731, Jonathan Swift, Directions to Servants
      Where there are little masters and misses in a house, they are impediments to the diversions of the servants.
  11. A master's degree; a type of postgraduate degree, usually undertaken after a bachelor degree.
    She has a master in psychology.
  12. A person holding such a degree.
    He is a master of marine biology.
  13. The original of a document or of a recording.
    The band couldn't find the master, so they re-recorded their tracks.
  14. (film) The primary wide shot of a scene, into which the closeups will be edited later.
  15. (legal) A parajudicial officer (such as a referee, an auditor, an examiner, or an assessor) specially appointed to help a court with its proceedings.
    The case was tried by a master, who concluded that the plaintiffs were the equitable owners of the property. […]
  16. (engineering, computing) A device that is controlling other devices or is an authoritative source.
    a master wheel
    a master database
  17. (freemasonry) A person holding an office of authority, especially the presiding officer.
  18. (by extension) A person holding a similar office in other civic societies.
Synonyms Related terms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • Portuguese: senhorzinho
  • Russian: ма́стер
  • Spanish: joven amo, señorito
Translations Translations
  • Portuguese: mestre
  • Russian: маги́стр
Translations Translations
  • Russian: веду́щий
Adjective

master (not comparable)

  1. Masterful.
    a master performance
  2. Main, principal or predominant.
  3. Highly skilled.
    master batsman
  4. Original.
    master copy
Translations Translations Verb

master (masters, present participle mastering; past and past participle mastered)

  1. (intransitive) To be a master.attention en
  2. (transitive) To become the master of; to subject to one's will, control, or authority; to conquer; to overpower; to subdue.
    • John Locke
      Obstinacy and willful neglects must be mastered, even though it cost blows.
    • 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 4
      Then Elzevir cried out angrily, 'Silence. Are you mad, or has the liquor mastered you? Are you Revenue-men that you dare shout and roister? or contrabandiers with the lugger in the offing, and your life in your hand. You make noise enough to wake folk in Moonfleet from their beds.'
  3. (transitive) To learn to a high degree of proficiency.
    It took her years to master the art of needlecraft.
  4. (transitive, obsolete) To own; to possess.
    • Shakespeare
      the wealth that the world masters
  5. (transitive, especially of a musical performance) To make a master copy of.
  6. (intransitive, usually with in) To earn a Master's degree.
    He mastered in English at the state college.
Translations Translations Translations
  • Portuguese: masterizar
Noun

master (plural masters)

  1. (nautical, in combination) A vessel having a specified number of masts.
    a two-master
Master
Noun

master (plural masters)

  1. Prepended to a boy's name or surname as a (now somewhat formal) form of address.
    • 1995, Barbara Hambly, Children of the Jedi, page 81
      "I'm terribly sorry, Master Luke," apologized the droid.
  2. A religious teacher, often as an honorific title.
  3. The title of the head of certain colleges and schools.
  4. A master's degree.
  5. A person holding a master's degree, as a title.
  6. The title of the eldest son of a Scots lord.
    The eldest son of Lord Forbes is known as the Master of Forbes.
  7. The owner of a slave, in some literature.
Proper noun
  1. (Wicca) One of the triune gods of the Horned God in Wicca alongside the Father and Sage and representing a boy or a young man
    • 2002, A. J. Drew, Wicca for Couples: Making Magick Together, page 89 ↗
      ...and our Lord as Master, Father, and Sage.
    • 2003, A. J. Drew, Patricia Telesco, God/Goddess: Exploring and Celebrating the Two Sides of Wiccan Deity, page 38 ↗
      In respect to our Lord (God), these are the less known Master, Father, and Sage.
    • 2009, Debbe Tompkins, Witch School: Living the Wiccan Life, page 18 ↗
      Master of the Seasons of the Year, I call upon you and ask you to be here with me in this, my ritual.
  2. (banking) MasterCard
Antonyms

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