Meanings
plural masterstrokes
- An action which demonstrates great skill or artistry.
Paddington dates to 1838, although much of today's main line station is from 1854. And it is, of course, a Brunellian masterstroke.
2021 September 22, Stephen Roberts, “The writings on the wall...”, in RAIL, number 940, page 741 more example
The Ivorian is a player with such a liking for improvisation it does not usually look like he has any more idea than anyone else what he is going to do next, so it was an interesting choice. As it turned out, it was a masterstroke. The striker was full of running, played with a more direct shoot-on-sight approach than normal and finished with two goals and an assist.
2012 September 15, Amy Lawrence, “Arsenal's Gervinho enjoys the joy of six against lowly Southampton”, in the Guardian
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 高招, 妙招
- 高招 (gāozhāo)Action demonstrating great skill
- 妙招 (miàozhāo)Action demonstrating great skill
Finnish mestarisuoritus, mestarityö
- mestarisuoritusAction demonstrating great skill
- mestarityöAction demonstrating great skill
- mestarivetoAction demonstrating great skill
French coup de maître, prouesse
- coup de maîtreAction demonstrating great skill
- prouesseAction demonstrating great skill
German Meisterleistung
- MeisterleistungAction demonstrating great skill
Swedish genidrag
- genidragAction demonstrating great skill
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
masterstroke. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/masterstroke
“masterstroke.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/masterstroke. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “masterstroke,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/masterstroke.
Source: masterstroke on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.