masterpiece

mas·ter·piece

noun \ˈmas-tər-ˌpēs\

Definition of MASTERPIECE

1

: a work done with extraordinary skill; especially : a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement

2

: a piece of work presented to a medieval guild as evidence of qualification for the rank of master

Examples of MASTERPIECE

1. The painting was immediately recognized as a masterpiece.
2. Herman Melville's masterpiece was Moby-Dick.
3. Her study of apes is a masterpiece.

First Known Use of MASTERPIECE

1600

Related to MASTERPIECE

Synonyms: chef d'oeuvre, classic, magnum opus, masterwork

Related Words: masterstroke, pièce de résistance, showpiece, tour de force; blockbuster, megahit, smash, success, winner; gem, jewel, prize, treasure

Near Antonyms: bomb, catastrophe, clunker, debacle (also débâcle), disaster, dud, failure, fiasco, fizzle, flop, loser, turkey, washout

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Rhymes with MASTERPIECE

afterpiece, altarpiece, Annamese, Assamese, Balinese, Bengalese, Beninese, Bhutanese, Bolognese, Brooklynese, Cantonese, centerpiece, Ceylonese, Chersonese, chimneypiece, Congolese, Cremonese, diocese, directrice, ex libris, expertise, Faeroese, fowling piece, frontispiece, Gabonese, Genovese, Golden Fleece, Guyanese, Japanese, Javanese, Johnsonese, journalese, Lebanese, legalese, manganese, mantelpiece, Nepalese, Nipponese, of a piece, Pekingese, piece by piece, Portuguese, predecease, Siamese, Sikkimese, Sinhalese, timed-release, Timorese, Tirolese, verdigris, Viennese