Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

past master

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.79 in modern English

Syllables: past -mas-ter
IPA

14

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

One who has an extremely high level of ability or knowledge within an area of achievement or expertise.

noun

Someone who has previously been a master at a given lodge.

Example Sentences

"It required a deft hand and deep knowledge of the barbaric mind effectually to handle such diverse weapons; but he was a past-master in the art, knowing when to conciliate and when to threaten with Jove-like wrath."
"Hervey responded with such volubility that anyone could see he was a pastmaster in Castilian swearing."
"The Hon. Morison was a past master in the art of insidious boasting."
"Winterbottom is a past master at lending the traditional story-telling format to real stories of the modern world at war."

Inflected Forms

past masters (plural) passed master (alternative, archaic) past-master (alternative) pastmaster (alternative)

Synonyms

expert guru adept ace artist buff crackerjack crack hand dab dab hand dabster don hand

Questions

What does past master mean?: One who has an extremely high level of ability or knowledge within an area of achievement or expertise.

How to pronounce past master

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “past master”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “past master” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.