masterpiece

noun

mas·​ter·​piece ˈma-stər-ˌpēs How to pronounce masterpiece (audio)
Synonyms of masterpiece
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

Synonyms of masterpiece

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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.
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Born in 1906, Visconti was older than either collaborator, and his high-toned, overripe style, expressed in his masterpieces Senso (1954) and The Leopard (1963), arguably renders him an even more remote figure. — Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2026 In the 2014 sci-fi film Ex Machina, Oscar Isaac played a reclusive AI-tech billionaire dwelling in an architectural masterpiece—the Juvet Landscape Hotel—and a private summer home in Valldal, Norway. — Catherine Dunwoody, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026 Painting and drawing aren’t about producing museum-worthy masterpieces. — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 30 July 2026 The Toyota Corolla The Corolla is the global standard for reliability and affordability and the best-selling car in the world—a masterpiece of redundant strengths in materials and design, like a jean jacket with flat-folding rear seats. — Chris Kelly, New Yorker, 28 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for masterpiece

Word History

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of masterpiece was in 1600

Rhymes for masterpiece

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Browse Nearby Words

master oscillator
masterpiece
master plan
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Cite this Entry

“Masterpiece.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/masterpiece. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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Kids Definition

masterpiece

noun
mas·​ter·​piece ˈmas-tər-ˌpēs How to pronounce masterpiece (audio)
: a work done with great skill
especially : a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement

More from Merriam-Webster on masterpiece

Nglish: Translation of masterpiece for Spanish Speakers

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