<B>masterful, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>fond of power or authority; domineering. <BR> <I>Ex. She was attracted by his masterful ways.</I> (SYN) imperious, lordly, overbearing. <DD><B> 2. </B>expert or very skillful; masterly. <BR> <I>Ex. a masterful performance.</I> adv. <B>masterfully.</B> noun <B>masterfulness.</B> </DL>
<B>master gunnery sergeant,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a noncommissioned officer in the Marine Corps, ranking above a sergeant major. </DL>
<A NAME="masterhand">
<B>master-hand, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a highly skilled craftsman; expert. <BR> <I>Ex. Chaucer was a master-hand at getting comic or satiric or emotional effects (Atlantic).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a high degree of skill or excellence; expertise. </DL>
<A NAME="masterhood">
<B>masterhood, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the condition or character of being a master. </DL>
<A NAME="masterkey">
<B>master key,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a key that opens all the different locks of a set. <DD><B> 2. </B>a key that will open many different locks of a similar type. </DL>
<A NAME="masterless">
<B>masterless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having no master; uncontrolled or unprotected by a master. <BR> <I>Ex. Many a town must now be masterless, And women's voices rule (William Morris).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="masterliness">
<B>masterliness, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality or condition of being masterly. </DL>
<A NAME="masterly">
<B>masterly, </B>adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> expert; very skillful. <BR> <I>Ex. a masterly piece of work. Rembrandt was a masterly painter.</I> (SYN) proficient, finished, excellent. <DD><I>adv. </I> in an expert or very skillful way. </DL>
<A NAME="mastermason">
<B>master mason,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a skilled mason who can direct the work of others. <DD><B> 2. </B>Often, <B>Master Mason.</B> <DD> a fully qualified Freemason, who has passed the 3rd degree. </DL>
<A NAME="mastermechanic">
<B>master mechanic,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a skilled mechanic who can direct the work of others. </DL>
<A NAME="mastermind">
<B>mastermind, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a person who plans and supervises a scheme or operation, usually from behind the scenes or in the background. <BR> <I>Ex. Soustelle, the political mastermind of the Algiers uprising that swept DeGaulle back to power ... (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to devise and conduct (a plan of action), usually from behind the scenes or in the background. <BR> <I>Ex. The statement gave Burgess the credit for masterminding their escape to Russia (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="masterofarts">
<B>Master of Arts,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a degree given by a college or university to a person who has completed a graduate course of study in the liberal arts or humanities, or as an honor. (Abbr:) M.A. or A.M. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person who has had the degree of Master of Arts conferred upon him. </DL>
<A NAME="masterofceremonies">
<B>master of ceremonies,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a person in charge of a ceremony or entertainment, who makes sure that all parts of it take place in the proper order. He usually welcomes guests and introduces speakers or performers. </DL>
<A NAME="masterofscience">
<B>Master of Science,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a degree given by a college or university to a person who has completed a graduate course of study in science, or as an honor. (Abbr:) M.S. or M.Sc. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person who has had the degree of Master of Science conferred upon him. </DL>
<A NAME="masterpiece">
<B>masterpiece, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>anything done or made with wonderful skill; perfect piece of art or workmanship. <BR> <I>Ex. This plan of setting our enemies to destroy one another seemed to us a masterpiece of policy (Francis Parkman).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a person's greatest piece of work. <BR> <I>Ex. The Ninth Symphony was Beethoven's masterpiece.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="masterplan">
<B>master-plan, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>-planned,</B> <B>-planning.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to devise or design according to a master plan. </DL>
<A NAME="masterplan">
<B>master plan,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any general plan or design, especially one used as a blueprint for a large building project. <BR> <I>Ex. He helped to develop the council's master plan for hospitals in the city (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="masterpoint">
<B>master point,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a point awarded to a player of contract bridge who wins or ranks high in a national tournament. <BR> <I>Ex. A player with a total of three hundred master points, he went on, becomes a Life Master (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="masterrace">
<B>master race,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a racial or other group superior to others and therefore fit to become the dominant race. <DD><B> 2. </B>(as used by the Nazis) the German Aryans. <BR> <I>Ex. Most Nazis ... intended ... to bring the world under the hegemony of their master race (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<B>master's degree,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the degree of master given by a college or university. <DD><B> 2. </B>a Master of Arts or Master of Science degree. </DL>
<A NAME="mastersergeant">
<B>master sergeant,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps having the highest rank but no command responsibility. He is outranked only by special designations, such as, in the Army and Marine Corps, sergeant major, and, in the Air Force, senior master sergeant and chief master sergeant. (Abbr:) M. Sgt. </DL>
<A NAME="mastership">
<B>mastership, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the position of a master. <DD><B> 2. </B>the degree of master from a college or university. <BR> <I>Ex. Edinburgh College, where I had just received my mastership of arts (Robert Louis Stevenson).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the power or authority of a master; rule; control. (SYN) masterdom. <DD><B> 4. </B>great skill; expert knowledge. </DL>
<B>masterslave, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with a system in which a master machine controls the actions of one or more duplicates of the original. <BR> <I>Ex. He operates a masterslave manipulator to extract radioactive material from a capsule with tweezers (Science News Letter).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="masterstreamnozzle">
<B>master-stream nozzle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large nozzle used in fire fighting that is usually mounted on a truck and attached to a large hose line. </DL>
<A NAME="masterstroke">
<B>master stroke,</B> or <B>masterstroke, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a very skillful act or achievement. </DL>
<B>master workman,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person very skilled in a trade or craft. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=foreman.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="mastery">
<B>mastery, </B>noun, pl. <B>-teries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>power such as a master has; rule; control. <BR> <I>Ex. So far humanity has shown itself most unfit for a rational mastery of its own future (Science News).</I> (SYN) command, sway. <DD><B> 2. </B>the upper hand; victory. <BR> <I>Ex. The two teams vied for mastery. Four champions fierce, Strive here for mastery (Milton).</I> (SYN) triumph. <DD><B> 3. </B>very great skill or knowledge. <BR> <I>Ex. a mastery over musical instruments. The teacher had a mastery of his subject. This consummate military leader ... was distinguished by ... a mastery of method rarely surpassed (Benjamin Disraeli).</I> (SYN) command, grasp. </DL>
<A NAME="masthead">
<B>masthead, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the top of a ship's mast. A crow's-nest near the masthead of the lower mast is used as a lookout. <DD><B> 2. </B>the part of a newspaper or magazine that gives the title, owner, address, staff members, rates, and other information. <BR> <I>Ex. The biggest category on Time's masthead ... is that of its sixty-two girl editorial researchers (New Yorker).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to raise (as a flag or yard) to the masthead. <DD><B> 2. </B>to send to the masthead as a punishment. <BR> <I>Ex. One of the midshipmen was mastheaded ... for not waiting on deck until he was relieved (Frederick Marryat).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="mastic">
<B>mastic, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a yellowish resin obtained from the bark of a small Mediterranean evergreen tree. It is used in making varnish, chewing gum, and incense, and as an astringent. <DD><B> 2. </B>the tree it comes from. It belongs to the cashew family. <DD><B> 3. </B>a distilled liquor flavored with this resin. <DD><B> 4. </B>any one of various cements or mortars having a pasty texture. </DL>
<A NAME="masticable">
<B>masticable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be masticated. </DL>
<A NAME="masticate">
<B>masticate, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>-cated,</B> <B>-cating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to grind (food) to a pulp with the teeth; chew. <BR> <I>Ex. Americans now masticate 86 million pounds of meat every day (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to crush or knead (rubber or other unrefined substance) to a pulp. </DL>
<A NAME="mastication">
<B>mastication, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act or process of masticating. </DL>
<A NAME="masticator">
<B>masticator, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person, animal, or organ that chews. <DD><B> 2. </B>a machine for cutting or grinding things into small pieces. </DL>
<A NAME="masticatory">
<B>masticatory, </B>adjective, noun, pl. <B>-ries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of, having to do with, or used in chewing. <BR> <I>Ex. the masticatory muscles.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a substance chewed to increase the flow of saliva. </DL>
<A NAME="mastictree">
<B>mastic tree,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the tree of the cashew family from which mastic is obtained. </DL>
<A NAME="mastiff">
<B>mastiff, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a large, strong doghaving a short, thick coat, large head, drooping ears, and hanging lips. </DL>
<A NAME="mastigoneme">
<B>mastigoneme, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a stiff lateral appendage on the flagellum of certain algal cells. </DL>
<A NAME="mastigophoran">
<B>mastigophoran, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> any one of the class of protistans comprising the flagellates, and consisting chiefly of protozoans. <DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with the mastigophorans. </DL>
