a. The owner or keeper of an animal: The dog ran toward its master.
b. The owner of a slave.
3. One who has control over or ownership of something: the master of a large tea plantation.
4. The captain of a merchant ship. Also called master mariner.
5. An employer.
6. The man who serves as the head of a household.
7. One who defeats another; a victor.
8.
a. One whose teachings or doctrines are accepted by followers.
b. MasterChristianity Jesus.
9. A male teacher, schoolmaster, or tutor.
10. One who holds a master's degree.
11.
a. An artist or performer of great and exemplary skill.
b. An old master.
12. A worker qualified to teach apprentices and carry on the craft independently.
13. An expert: a master of three languages.
14. Abbr. M.
a. Used formerly as a title for a man holding a naval office ranking next below a lieutenant on a warship.
b. Used as a title for a man who serves as the head or presiding officer of certain societies, clubs, orders, or institutions.
c. Chiefly British Used as a title for any of various male law court officers.
d. Master Used as a title for any of various male officers having specified duties concerning the management of the British royal household.
e. Master Used as a courtesy title before the given or full name of a boy not considered old enough to be addressed as Mister.
f. Archaic Used as a form of address for a man; mister.
15. Master A man who owns a pack of hounds or is the chief officer of a hunt.
16. An original, such as an original document or audio recording, from which copies can be made.
adj.
1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a master.
2. Principal or predominant: a master plot.
3. Controlling all other parts of a mechanism: a master switch.
4. Highly skilled or proficient: a master thief.
5. Being an original from which copies are made.
tr.v.mas·tered, mas·ter·ing, mas·ters
1. To act as or be the master of.
2. To make oneself a master of: mastered the language in a year's study.
3. To overcome or defeat: He finally mastered his addiction to drugs.
4. To reduce to subjugation; break or tame (an animal, for example).
5. To produce a master audio recording for.
6. To season or age (dyed goods).
[Middle English, from Old English mgister, mægister and Old French maistre, both from Latin magister; see meg- in Indo-European roots.]
master·dom n.
Usage Note: Master has been a productive source of compounds in English, evidenced by words such as masterpiece, concertmaster, mastermind, and masterstroke, to name just a few. It is also used frequently on its own as a noun, verb, and adjective, with meanings ranging from "an original document that is to be copied" to "a man who serves as the head of a household." The latter sense lends the word masculine connotations, which, along with the word's associations with the institutions of slavery, causes some people to be offended by the use of master in any form. Nonetheless, many senses of master, such as the noun sense "an expert" and the verb sense "to make oneself an expert at," have long been thought of as gender-neutral and are in wide use. Some compounds, like masterpiece and master plan, have lost most, if not all, of their associations with maleness. They exist as distinct words, and people do not usually think of them as a combination of parts each containing a different meaning.
master
Noun
1. the man who has authority over others, such as the head of a household, the employer of servants, or the owner of slaves or animals
2. a person with exceptional skill at a certain thing: B.B. King is a master of the blues
3. a person who has complete control of a situation: the master of his portfolio
4. an original copy or tape from which duplicates are made
5. a craftsman fully qualified to practise his trade and to train others
6. a player of a game, esp. chess or bridge, who has won a specified number of tournament games
7. a highly regarded teacher or leader
8. a graduate holding a master's degree
9. the chief officer aboard a merchant ship
10. Chiefly Brit a male teacher
11. the superior person or side in a contest
12. the heir apparent of a Scottish viscount or baron: the Master of Ballantrae
Adjective
1. (of a craftsman) fully qualified to practise and to train others
2. overall or controlling: master plan
3. designating a mechanism that controls others: master switch
4. main or principal: master bedroom
Verb
1. to become thoroughly proficient in
2. to overcome or defeat [Latin magister teacher]
Master
Noun
a title of address for a boy who is not old enough to be called Mr
ThesaurusLegend:SynonymsRelated WordsAntonyms
Noun
1.
master - an artist of consummate skill; "a master of the violin"; "one of the old masters"
ship's officer, officer - a person authorized to serve in a position of authority on a vessel; "he is the officer in charge of the ship's engines"
8.
master - someone who holds a master's degree from academic institution
bookman, scholar, scholarly person, student - a learned person (especially in the humanities); someone who by long study has gained mastery in one or more disciplines
9.
master - an authority qualified to teach apprentices
beat, beat out, vanquish, trounce, crush, shell - come out better in a competition, race, or conflict; "Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship"; "We beat the competition"; "Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game"
bulldog - throw a steer by seizing the horns and twisting the neck, as in a rodeo
3.
master - have dominance or the power to defeat over; "Her pain completely mastered her"; "The methods can master the problems"
control, operate - handle and cause to function; "do not operate machinery after imbibing alcohol"; "control the lever"
Adj.
1.
master - most important element; "the chief aim of living"; "the main doors were of solid glass"; "the principal rivers of America"; "the principal example"; "policemen were primary targets"; "the master bedroom"; "a master switch"
The commanding officer of a United States Naval Ship, a commercial ship, or a government-owned general agency agreement ship operated for the Military Sealift Command by a civilian company to transport Department of Defense cargo. Also called MA.
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