to plan and direct (a usually complex project or activity), especially skillfully: Two colonels had masterminded the revolt.
noun
a person who originates or is primarily responsible for the execution of a particular idea, project, or the like: the masterminds of company policy.
Origin of mastermind
First recorded in 1710–20; master + mind
Words nearby mastermind
master hand, master key, masterly, master mason, master mechanic, mastermind, Master of Arts, master of ceremonies, master of foxhounds, Master of Science, Master of the Horse
There’s this trope in movies and TV where we create genius criminal masterminds, cruel, unbeatable, never messing up, always eluding detectives or anyone else who’s looking for them.
“People want to believe”: How Love Fraud builds an absorbing docuseries around a romantic con man|Alissa Wilkinson|September 4, 2020|Vox
Zubaydah indentified Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
The Luxury Homes That Torture and Your Tax Dollars Built|Michael Daly|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Self-described 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was also kept at Cobalt after his March 2003 in Pakistan.
Inside the CIA’s Sadistic Dungeon|Tim Mak|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Surely only an advanced hacker could mastermind such a fiendish act — right?
A Female Writer’s New Milestone: Her First Death Threat|Annie Gaus|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the mastermind of the Hamas kidnapping strategy is al-Arouri, Israeli officials say.
Israel Bombs Gaza While Hamas’ Kidnapping Mastermind Sits in Turkey|Eli Lake|July 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Not your typical criminal or mastermind,” her attorney, Marcus Sierra, told a local newspaper.
There is No Stealing in Baseball!|Michael Daly|April 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As for Salem, it looks as though a mastermind had been at work, I see it in everything.
No Defense, Complete|Gilbert Parker
A banquet extraordinary was shortly to take place, and M. Sapin, the mastermind, came to beg of Regali the recipe for his ragout.
The Orchard of Tears|Sax Rohmer
This girl was obviously the assistant to the Mastermind who originated the scheme.
The Misplaced Battleship|Harry Harrison (AKA Henry Maxwell Dempsey)
He said to Professor Garet, "All right, mastermind, untie me."
And Then the Town Took Off|Richard Wilson
Ravick seemed to have gotten the idea that Joe Kivelson was the mastermind of the hunters' cabal against him.
Four-Day Planet|Henry Beam Piper
British Dictionary definitions for mastermind
mastermind
/ (ˈmɑːstəˌmaɪnd) /
verb
(tr)to plan and direct (a complex undertaking)he masterminded the robbery
noun
a person of great intelligence or executive talent, esp one who directs an undertaking