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mastery

/ˈmæstəri/
/ˈmɑstəri/
IPA guide

Other forms: masteries

Mastery refers to having great skill at something or total dominance over something. If you are fluent in French, you have a mastery of the language. If you win every game of chess, you show a mastery of the game.

Mastery is from master, who is someone knowledgeable about a subject, like a master painter. Masters are also people with power — butlers sometimes call their employer master. Mastery refers to a similar power or ability. Beethoven showed mastery in composing. Shakespeare displayed mastery in writing. Apple has had mastery over the field of computers and smartphones. Often, both senses are mixed: if someone has mastery over a field skill-wise, they probably have mastery in terms of dominance too.

Definitions of mastery
  1. noun
    great skillfulness and knowledge of some subject or activity
    synonyms: command, control
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    type of:
    skillfulness
    the state of being cognitively skillful
  2. noun
    the act of mastering or subordinating someone
    synonyms: subordination
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    type of:
    domination
    social control by dominating
  3. noun
    power to dominate or defeat
    mastery of the seas”
    synonyms: domination, supremacy
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    types:
    superiority, transcendence, transcendency
    the state of excelling or surpassing or going beyond usual limits
    type of:
    ascendance, ascendancy, ascendence, ascendency, control, dominance
    the state that exists when one person or group has power over another
Pronunciation
US
/ˈmæstəri/
UK
/ˈmɑstəri/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘mastery'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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