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 first iteration of Jokic, from Adelman’s point of view, was the emergence of a modern post-up maestro. —Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 18 Apr. 2025

N’Golo — more passing, defensive midfielders who win the ball and break up the opposing attacks as soon as possible and pass to the maestros in front, Cesc, Oscar, Pedro, (Eden) Hazard, these guys. —Andy Mitten, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025

Featuring a core of pianist Andy Milne, chromatic harmonica maestro Grégoire Maret and Baum’s husband, drummer Jeff Hirshfield, the group was set to tour and record in June, 2020. —Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2025

Cesc was a maestro with the ball, giving the final pass. —Andy Mitten, New York Times, 9 Apr. 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