The AI-powered English dictionary
plural masterminds
A person with an extraordinary intellect or skill that is markedly superior to his or her peers. quotations examples
At long intervals some master-minds appeared, looking upon each advance in practical science as a retro-gradation in the true utility.
1840, Edgar Allan Poe, The Colloquy of Monos and Una
His first outside hire wasn't an electronics whiz or a mechanical mastermind, but a young industrial designer, a creature hitherto unknown at DEKA.
2003, Steve Kemper, chapter 2, in Code Name Ginger: the Story Behind Segway and Dean Kamen's Quest to Invent a New World, page 34
A person responsible for the highest level of planning and execution of a major operation. quotations examples
The first was with none other than Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM), mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
2007, Mark S. Hamm, chapter 6, in Terrorism as Crime: from Oklahoma City to Al-Qaeda and Beyond, page 196
third-person singular simple present masterminds, present participle masterminding, simple past and past participle masterminded
To act in the role of mastermind. quotations examples
It would later be revealed that the corporation contributed over a quarter of a million dollars to the effort—a whopping 93 percent of the total coffer—and hired a team of media and political experts to mastermind it.
2007, Kevin Danaher et al., Building the Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grassroots, page 136
Travelling over the route today, it is well to remember the ongoing role of the Friends of the S&C and the work of the late Ron Cotton. He masterminded its revival, thereby reversing the role he had been given by BR to bring about its closure.
2020 July 1, David Allen, “Signalling from Leeds along the S&C”, in Rail, page 78