task·mas·ter

[task-mas-ter, tahsk-mah-ster]
noun
1.
a person whose function it is to assign tasks, especially burdensome ones, to others.
2.
a person who supervises rigorously the work of others.

Origin:
1520–30; task + master

task·mas·ter·ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To taskmaster
Collins
World English Dictionary
taskmaster (ˈtɑːskˌmɑːstə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
a person, discipline, etc, that enforces work, esp hard or continuous work: his teacher is a hard taskmaster
 
'taskmistress
 
fem n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Taskmaster is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

taskmaster
1520s, from task (n.) + master (n.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
She has been a gentle taskmaster, kindly encouraging everyone to their best
  efforts.
The majority of his pupils found him an impossibly demanding and exacting
  taskmaster.
To those who work at her fashion house, she is an unremittingly severe
  taskmaster.
He was growing into the taskmaster who would prowl the parking lot on weekends
  to see who'd made it in.
Related Words
Synonym Game
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT