►
mas ter ful ly /-fali/ adv.: He
took her arm masterfully and led her away.
master gunnery sergeant noun an officer of middle rank in the
m-±^
master key (also pass
key) noun a key that can be used to
open many different locks in a building Jj fg
mas ter ly /'maistali; NAmE 'maestarli/ (also mas ter ful) adj. showing great skill or understanding It Eft; SMi§®Eft: a masterly
performance 0 Her
handling of the situation was masterly. HfeXtt# ^(ft&LJI
mastermind /'maistamaind;
NAmE 'maestarm-/ noun, verb
mnoun [usually sing.] an intelligent person who plans and
directs a complicated project or activity (often one that involves a crime) (
M^fift ) ±i£; *MJ
MM
m verb [VN] to plan and direct a complicated project or
.master
of 'ceremonies noun (abbr. MC) a person who introduces guests or entertainers at a
formal occasion mm
masterpiece /'ma:stapi:s;
NAmE 'maestarp-/ (also mas-ter-work) noun a work of art such as a
painting, film/movie, book, etc. that is an excellent, or the best, example of
the artist’s work The
museum houses several of his Cubist
masterpieces, tf ttiftltTo' 0 Her work
is a masterpiece of (= an
excellent example of) simplicity. M
Eft /m
'master
plan noun [sing.] a detailed plan
that will make a complicated project successful ;
&it $]
'master’s degree (also master’s) noun a further university degree that you
study for after a first degree
.master
'seaman noun a member of the Canadian
navy, of middle rank (
.master
'sergeant noun a member of the
master stroke /‘maistastrauk; NAmE 'maestarstrouk/ noun [usually sing.] something clever that you do that gives a successful
result ; itSJg-;
.master
'warrant officer noun an officer of middle rank in the Canadian armed forces ( jjp^AA-IA'f'lft )
mas-ter-work /‘ma:staw3:k;
NAmE ’masstarwairk/ noun
=
MASTERPIECE
mas-tery /'maistari;
NAmE ‘maest-/ noun 1 [U, sing.] ~ (of sth) great knowledge about or
understanding of a particular thing 11; EI22I command : She
has mastery of several languages. Mffiiii&nin'Wo 2 [U] ~ (of/over sb/sth) control or power
grtfij; }$$!]
A
M: human mastery of the natural world A^EXt
§ Jl-
MmJ
mast-head /‘ma:sthed;
NAmE 'maest-/ noun 1 the top of a mast on a ship H M 2 the name of a newspaper at the top of
the front page (
fij A
3 (NAmE) the part of a newspaper or
a news website which gives details of the people who work on it and other
information about it (
> mm t*ja
mas-tic
/'maestik/
noun [U] 1 a substance that
comes from the bark of a tree and
is used in making varnish ILf 2 a substance that is used in building
to fill holes and keep out water mas ti cate /'maestikeit/ verb [V] (technical Ain) to chew food ► mas-ti-ca4tion /.maesti'keijn/ noun [U]
mas-tiff /'maestif/
noun a large strong dog with
short hair, often used to guard buildings
mas-titis /mae’staitis/ noun [U] (medical EE) painful swelling of the breast or udder usually because of infection A
mas-tur-bate
/’maestabeit;
NAmE -starb-/ verb 1 [V] to give yourself sexual pleasure by
rubbing your sexual organs A/S- 2 [VN] to give sb sexual pleasure by rubbing
their sexual organs M ( ^A
) ff AM ► mas-tur-ba-tion /.maesta'beijn; NAmE -star'b-/ noun [U] mas-tur-ba-tory /.maesta'beitari; NAmE ‘maestarbatoiri/ adj. mat /maet/ noun, adj.
m noun 1 a small piece of thick carpet or strong material
that is used to cover part of a floor A itfe H ; ^ A : Wipe your feet on the mat before
you come in, please.
— see
also bath mat, doormat(I), mouse mat 2
a piece of thick material such as rubber or plastic used especially in some
sports for people to lie on or fall onto (
A: a judo/an exercise mat AilS; fi#fe3a small piece
of plastic, wood or cloth used on a table for decoration or to protect the
surface from heat or damage ( AS: a
beer mat
—see
also table mat 4 a thick mass of
sth that is stuck together : a mat of hair — \/\
% A — see also matted ITiTOl go to the mat (with sb) (for
sb/sth) (NAmE,
informal) to
support or defend sb/sth in an argument with sb ( ) (Af
A A ) ## take sb/sth to the 'mat (US, informal) to get involved in an argument with sb/sth ■ adj. (US) = MATT
mata-dor /'maetado:(r)/ noun (from Spanish) a person who fights and kills the bull in a bullfight AAA, Mata Hari /.maita 'hairi/ noun an attractive female spy A A |b] iH iVidfuMi From the name of a Dutch dancer who worked
as a spy for the German government during the First World War. M § H-^tft^AfMls] A
ma-tatu /mae'taetu:/ noun (in
match Or* /maetj/ noun, verb wrnoun
►
FOR LIGHTING FIRES A
1 [C]
a small stick made of
wood or cardboard that is used for lighting a
fire, cigarette, etc. A ^ : a box of matches —
^ A ^ 0 to strike a match (= to make it burn) £lj A^ 0 to put a match to sth (= set fire to sth)
►
IN SPORT (f- h zszfi 2 [C] (especially BrE) a sports event where
people or teams compete against each other
: (BrE)
a football match <> (NAmE,
BrE) a tennis match ^] tfc # o They
are playing an important match against
&ma 0 to win/lose a match MM / tk jf — see also shooting
match, slanging
match, Test match
►
AN EQUAL E St M 3 [sing.] a ~ for sb | sb’s match a
person who is equal to sb else in strength,
skill, intelligence, etc. Sc ; JKIM^lftA: I was no match for him at tennis. 07 was his
match at tennis.
►
SB/STH THAT COMBINES WELL AW 4 [sing.] a
person or thing that combines well with sb/sth
else jf! BE^lA ( Wfa ) ; JlXSeSjA ( ) : The curtains and
carpet are a good match, fi ?j? fP ftk M K 0 0 Jo
and Ian are a perfect match for each other.
►
STH THE SAME A15 5 [C] a thing that looks exactly
the same as or very similar to sth else [r]
^ if.
M; # # M to ff. If: I’ve found a vase that is an exact
match of the one I broke. 3% f I] T—H Vi
►
MARRIAGE II ® 6 [C] (old-fashioned) a marriage or a
marriage partner £{f j®; — see also love match
BTiTTTl find/meet your match (in sb) to meet sb who is equal to,
or even better than you in strength, skill or intelligence — more at man n.
m verb
COMBINE
WELL E id 1 if
two things match, or if one thing matches another, they have the same colour,