taskmaster

T1A1S1K5M3A1S1T1E1R1
US/ˈtæskˌmæstɚ/

noun

Someone who supervises workers, especially one who imposes hard or burdensome work.

UncommonScrabble 16

Meanings

nountaskmaster (plural taskmasters)

plural taskmasters

  1. Someone who supervises workers, especially one who imposes hard or burdensome work.

    And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 3:7
  2. figurativelyA source of hard work or responsibility.
    1 more example

    Everyone knows the enthusiasm is inauthentic and only for show, but artifice and inauthenticity are perfectly adequate for the politicization taskmasters. […] It all looked so easy when the competent were at the helm, but reality is a cruel taskmaster, and all the excuses that worked as an underling wear thin once the incompetent are in leadership roles.

    2023 June 4, Charles Hugh Smith, What Happens When the Competent Opt Out?, archived from the original on 23 Nov 2023
  3. Someone who is capable of performing many tasks; a multitasker.

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

Translations

Bulgarian надзирател
  • надзирател (nadziratel)supervisor
German Zuchtmeister, Antreiber
  • Zuchtmeistersupervisor
  • Antreibersupervisor
  • Aufsehersupervisor
Hebrew נוֹגֵשׂ
  • נוֹגֵשׂ (nogés)supervisor
Polish nadzorca, nadzorczyni
  • nadzorcasupervisor
  • nadzorczynisupervisor
Cite this entry
APA

taskmaster. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/taskmaster

MLA

“taskmaster.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/taskmaster. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “taskmaster,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/taskmaster.

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