maestro

noun

mae·​stro ˈmī-(ˌ)strō 

plural maestros or maestri ˈmī-ˌstrē 

: a master usually in an art

especially : an eminent composer, conductor, or teacher of music

Synonyms

• ace
• adept
• artist
• authority
• cognoscente
• connoisseur
• crackerjack
• crackajack
• dab [chiefly British]
• dab hand [chiefly British]
• expert
• fiend
• geek
• guru
• hand
• hotshot
• master
• maven
• mavin
• meister
• past master
• proficient
• scholar
• shark
• sharp
• virtuoso
• whiz
• wizard

Examples of maestro in a Sentence

a maestro of the violin

Recent Examples on the Web

The Argentine maestro tried to pull off some 11th-hour heroics. —Michael Lewis, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025

At the end of the episode, Sajak, White, Ferguson, Goldsberry, and Peters all took to the stage to bid the maestro a final adieu. —Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 11 June 2025

The sequel opens with former heist maestro Mr Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell) living in L.A. on his uppers following his decision to abandon a life of crime, alongside Bad Guy collaborators Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos) and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina). —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 11 June 2025

The maestro John Derian has a lot of warm how-to videos for beginners. —Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 6 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Italian, literally, master, from Latin magister — more at master

First Known Use

1607, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

maestro

noun

mae·​stro ˈmī-strō 

plural maestros or maestri -ˌstrē 

: a master of an art and especially of music

Etymology

from Italian maestro, literally "master," from Latin magister "master, one who holds a higher political office" — related to magistrate, master