I. mas ‧ ter 1 S2 W2 /ˈmɑːstə $ ˈmæstər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1000-1100 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: maistre and the word it came from, Latin magister 'chief' ]
1 . SKILLED PERSON someone who is very skilled at something
master of
Runyon was a master of the short story.
a master of disguise
Hitchcock was an acknowledged master of suspense.
master at (doing) something
She’s a master at manipulating people.
a work of art by a true master
2 . be a past master (at something) British English to be very good at doing something because you have done it a lot:
He’s a past master at getting free drinks out of people.
3 . MAN WITH AUTHORITY old-fashioned
a) a man who has control or authority over servants or workers ⇨ mistress :
You’ll have to ask the master’s permission.
b) the male owner of a dog ⇨ mistress
4 . be your own master to be in control of your own life or work:
Determined to be his own master, Simmons quit in 1998 and started working freelance.
5 . be master of your own fate/destiny literary to be in complete control of what happens to you:
Our country must be master of its own economic destiny.
6 . ORIGINAL a document, record etc from which copies are made:
I gave him the master to copy.
7 . Master of Arts/Science/Education etc a university ↑ degree in an ↑ art s subject, a science subject etc that you can get after your first degree ⇨ ↑ MA , ↑ M.Sc. , ↑ MEd , ↑ MPhil , ⇨ Bachelor of Arts/Science/Education etc at ↑ bachelor (2)
8 . TEACHER
a) British English old-fashioned a male teacher ⇨ headmaster , headmistress
b) ( also Master ) a wise person whose ideas and words other people accept and follow:
a Zen master
9 . YOUNG BOY ( also Master ) old-fashioned used when speaking or referring to a young boy:
How’s young Master Toby today?
10 . UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL ( also Master ) the person who is in charge of some university colleges in the UK:
the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge
11 . CAPTAIN old-fashioned someone who is in charge of a ship
⇨ ↑ grand master , ↑ old master , ↑ quizmaster
II. master 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to learn a skill or a language so well that you have no difficulty with it:
the skills needed to master a new language
I never quite mastered the art of walking in high heels.
2 . to manage to control a strong emotion SYN overcome :
He had learned to master his fear of heights.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ learn to gain knowledge of a subject or skill, especially by being taught or trained:
How long have you been learning Italian?
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What age can you learn to drive in America?
▪ study to learn about a subject by reading books, going to classes etc, especially at school or university:
She’s studying music at Berkeley College in California.
▪ train to learn the skills and get the experience that you need in order to do a particular job:
Julie’s training to be a nurse.
▪ pick something up to learn something without much effort, by watching or listening to other people:
It’s easy to pick up a language when you’re living in a country.
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The rules of the game are easy – you’ll soon pick them up.
▪ get the hang of something informal to learn how to do or use something that is fairly complicated, especially with practice:
It took me a while to get the hang of all the features on my new camera.
▪ revise British English , review American English to study facts again, especially on your own, in order to learn them before an examination:
Jenny’s upstairs revising for her Maths exam tomorrow.
▪ master to learn something so well that you have no difficulty with it, especially a skill or a language:
She gave me a book called ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’.
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I learnt Spanish for years but I never really mastered it.
III. master 3 BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
1 . a master copy of a document, recording etc is the one from which copies are made
master list/copy/recording etc
We’ve lost the master disk.
2 . most important or main:
the master control center at NASA
3 . master craftsman/chef/plumber etc someone who is very skilled at a particular job, especially a job that involves working with your hands:
a society of master chefs