master sergeant

noun

: a noncommissioned officer ranking in the army above a sergeant first class and below a staff sergeant major, in the air force above a technical sergeant and below a senior master sergeant, and in the marine corps above a gunnery sergeant and below a master gunnery sergeant

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Christopher Donohue, who served from 1996 to 2020, retired as a master sergeant, an Army spokesman said. —

Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 22 Mar. 2023 Her father, Gilbert, was a U.S. Air Force master sergeant. —

Matt Jacob, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2023 Edmonds was a master sergeant of the 106th Infantry Division, 422nd Infantry Regiment, in the United States Army during World War II. —

Fox News, 17 Jan. 2023 William David Foreman was born on Oct. 18, 1946, in Albuquerque, the son of Benjamin Foreman, an Air Force master sergeant who later worked as an air traffic controller, and Lorane (Crawford) Foreman, a homemaker. —

Clay Risen, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2022 More recently, in May 2021, a master sergeant in the 82nd named Martin Acevedo III was arrested in a joint raid by the Department of Homeland Security and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. —

Seth Harp, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2022 In 2009, an off-duty police sergeant with hearing loss, from nearby Richmond, was pulled over in Rosenberg, according to a federal lawsuit that the master sergeant, Robert Eiteman, filed. —

Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 6 Aug. 2022 His father was a U.S. Air Force master sergeant, his mother the daughter of a country singer. —

Shawn Tully, Fortune, 3 Aug. 2022 The photographer who took this picture retired from the Air Force in 2013 as a master sergeant after being named military photographer of the year by the Defense Department seven times, starting with the year these photos were taken, 2002. —

New York Times, 12 June 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'master sergeant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of master sergeant was in 1920

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Master sergeant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/master%20sergeant. Accessed 30 Mar. 2023.

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Kids Definition

master sergeant

noun

: a military noncommissioned officer with the rank just below that of sergeant major in the army, below that of master gunnery sergeant in the marines, and below that of senior master sergeant in the air force

Last Updated: 29 Mar 2023 - Updated example sentences