masterpiece
noun
mas·ter·piece
ˈma-stər-ˌpēs 
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 in a Sentence
The painting was immediately recognized as a masterpiece.
Herman Melville's masterpiece was Moby-Dick.
Her study of apes is a masterpiece.
Recent Examples on the Web
Not all of the 10 plays in August Wilson’s 20th century cycle are masterpieces.
—
Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Davies, too, is a masterpiece of patience: Real Madrid will present Bayern Munich with the choice of losing him for a fee this summer, or for nothing when his contract expires in 2025.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Just like the work they're based on, these shoes are a downright masterpiece.
—Alexandra Domrongchai, Travel + Leisure, 5 Apr. 2024
Why the author repaired to the remote Isle of Jura to write his masterpiece, 1984
By Stephen Metcalf
The Isle of Jura is a patchwork of bogs and moorland laid across a quartzite slab in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides.
—Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2024
The movie is a masterpiece of Hitchcock-style suspense.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Apr. 2024
Director Denis Villeneuve's follow-up to his 2021 masterpiece has a big spice rack to fill, as the first film won six Oscars for technical elements — in addition to scoring a huge Best Picture nomination in the process.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2024
Phillips’s latest auction is something of a bejeweled masterpiece.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2024
Jayasekara and Jefferies’s joint masterpiece, however, might well be the 14-seat private dining room, complete with gold latticework and a Saracen fireplace.
—Hayley Maitland, Vogue, 3 Apr. 2024
Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Davies, too, is a masterpiece of patience: Real Madrid will present Bayern Munich with the choice of losing him for a fee this summer, or for nothing when his contract expires in 2025.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Just like the work they're based on, these shoes are a downright masterpiece.
—Alexandra Domrongchai, Travel + Leisure, 5 Apr. 2024
Why the author repaired to the remote Isle of Jura to write his masterpiece, 1984
By Stephen Metcalf
The Isle of Jura is a patchwork of bogs and moorland laid across a quartzite slab in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides.
—Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2024
The movie is a masterpiece of Hitchcock-style suspense.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Apr. 2024
Director Denis Villeneuve's follow-up to his 2021 masterpiece has a big spice rack to fill, as the first film won six Oscars for technical elements — in addition to scoring a huge Best Picture nomination in the process.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2024
Phillips’s latest auction is something of a bejeweled masterpiece.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2024
Jayasekara and Jefferies’s joint masterpiece, however, might well be the 14-seat private dining room, complete with gold latticework and a Saracen fireplace.
—Hayley Maitland, Vogue, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'masterpiece.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Masterpiece.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/masterpiece. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
masterpiece
noun
mas·ter·piece
ˈmas-tər-ˌpēs
: a work done with great skill
especially
: a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement
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