past master

noun

1
: one who has held the office of worshipful master in a lodge of Freemasons or of master in a guild, club, or society
2
[alteration of passed master] : one who is expert : adept

Examples of past master in a Sentence

He's a past master at finding ways to get out of trouble. They are past masters of the art of propaganda.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
There is a certainty to her sentences that sets her alongside past masters (your William Trevors, your Anton Chekhovs) and a singular beauty to her observations. Tomi Obaro, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2024 Coppola, a past master at directing actors, allows his performers – who include Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Aubrey Plaza, and Nathalie Emmanuel – to shamelessly ham it up. Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Sep. 2024 And he is positioned as the chief foreign luminary at the festival’s anniversary tribute to past master Ozu Yasujiro. Mark Schilling, Variety, 23 Oct. 2023 The fact that the company is designing a standalone robotaxi speaks to its failures in executing past master plans. Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 28 Feb. 2023 Wonder, a past master of love songs, makes a demand that tests the output of every contemporary pop singer and every jaded fan. Armond White, National Review, 25 Nov. 2020 Does this past master of starting crazes see the Reddit phenomenon as a long-overdue democratization of the stock market, or a frenzy detached from the fundamentals of investing? Shawn Tully, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2021 The locked-room mystery—not just a whodunnit but a how-done-it—pays homage to past masters such as John Dickson Carr and Gaston Leroux. The Economist, 18 Dec. 2019 When the ensemble made its first national tour, playing Orchestra Hall in September 1992, Marsalis and friends were trying to show that America needed a world-class jazz orchestra that could honor past masters while forging future ones. Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 16 Nov. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1762, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of past master was in 1762

Dictionary Entries Near past master

Cite this Entry

“Past master.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/past%20master. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

past master

noun
1
: one who has held the office of master (as in a club or lodge)
2
: one who is expert
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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