masterstroke

M3A1S1T1E1R1S1T1R1O1K5E1

noun

An action which demonstrates great skill or artistry.

RareScrabble 18

Meanings

nounmasterstroke (plural masterstrokes)

plural masterstrokes

  1. 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 74
    1 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

Also see

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
APA

masterstroke. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/masterstroke

MLA

“masterstroke.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/masterstroke. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “masterstroke,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/masterstroke.

Source: masterstroke on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.