as in expert
a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field
a movie director who was widely regarded as the past master of suspense
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Recent Examples of past master
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for past master
Noun
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The Transporter Year: 2002 Directors: Louis Leterrier, Corey Yuen Runtime: 1h 32m Jason Statham, who later joined the Fast and Furious franchise, scored his first franchise playing an expert driver who gets paid to transport cargo — any kind of cargo, no questions asked.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 June 2025
-
There are a few items our experts say are acceptable to hang up or place on a drying rack to dry naturally instead of tossing in the dryer.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
27 June 2025
Noun
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The Skokie native works at Google and recently graduated from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management with a master’s degree in business administration, according to her campaign.—
Olivia Olander,
Chicago Tribune,
24 June 2025
-
Twelve percent have master’s degrees or higher, compared with 14% nationally.—
Jeff A. Chamer,
Charlotte Observer,
24 June 2025
Noun
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The author is not the first scholar to tackle the history of America—as in the American continent, not just the United States (which keeps trying to hoard the name for itself).—
Carolina A. Miranda,
The Atlantic,
30 June 2025
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The festival also offers performances by local dance or music groups, lectures by Shakespeare scholars and food offerings from Tom’s Travelin’ Coffee Truck or OneSong Biscotti.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
29 June 2025
Noun
-
The star, who portrayed Alex Russo on Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place, shared a photo from the spinoff’s set of her hand — complete with glittering manicure — holding her red wizard wand on Instagram Stories.—
Anna Chan,
Billboard,
27 June 2025
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Jacobs, a White man, likened Walton, a Black woman, to David Duke, the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
27 June 2025
Noun
-
The digital adept also had a nearly eight-year stretch at Teen Vogue.—
Hikmat Mohammed,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2019
-
Slot shares this staple of Tottenham counterpart Ange Postecoglou’s attacking principles, with Porro adept at tucking inside to disrupt the opposition shape.—
Andy Jones,
New York Times,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
He’s been a glamorous Visual Kei rock star, a classical composer, a virtuoso behind the drum kit, a producer and label owner and entrepreneur, and now, more than ever, an impresario.—
Steve Appleford,
Variety,
17 June 2025
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Little Feat, the archetypal ’70s band originally formed by Lowell George — a guitar virtuoso fired from the Mothers of Invention by Frank Zappa — has survived years of breakups, drug problems and even George’s untimely death in 1979.—
Dave Brooks,
Billboard,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Lee did return at the age of 18 and grew into the iconic martial artist and film star known across the world.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
29 June 2025
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The effort is following in the footsteps of the Lake Effect project that was launched in 2013 and brought around 40 artists to the Miller Beach Arts & Creative District to transform 19 walls and alleys into canvases.—
Post-Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
28 June 2025
Noun
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Audun Amundsen’s documentary Click the Link Below, exploring the world of high-rolling digital marketing and lifestyle gurus, world premieres at the DocEdge festival in New Zealand this week and Deadline can reveal the trailer.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
26 June 2025
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The first five gurus, a succession of prophet-leaders, likely donned the seli topi, a woven cap worn by Hindus and Muslims and associated with humility and spiritual living.—
Manvir Singh,
New Yorker,
21 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Past master.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/past%20master. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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