From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmastermindmas‧ter‧mind1 /ˈmɑːstəmaɪnd $ ˈmæstər-/ noun [singular] PLANsomeone who plans and organizes a complicated operation, especially a criminal operation a criminal mastermindmastermind of/behind He is suspected of being the mastermind behind the bombings.
Examples from the Corpus
mastermind• Ian Botham, mastermind of the epic booze-up on the Channel island of Alderney, enjoyed a wicked laugh.• The film stars Morgan Freeman as a criminal mastermind.• John Barnard, the world's greatest designer, has been recruited by new team mastermind Harvey Postlethwaite.• Robinson, described as the mastermind behind the bombings, was arrested Monday afternoon.• Duarte is thought to be the mastermind behind the kidnapping.• Andres is the mastermind behind a huge drug-smuggling operation.• Clive DerbyLewis, a smooth-talking politician of the ultra-right Afrikaner Conservative Party, was the mastermind.• The court heard that it was Mrs Thompson who was the mastermind, not her husband.mastermind of/behind• Salameh was a close associate of the alleged mastermind of the Trade Center bombing, Ramzi Yousef.• Ian Botham, mastermind of the epic booze-up on the Channel island of Alderney, enjoyed a wicked laugh.• Robinson, described as the mastermind behind the bombings, was arrested Monday afternoon.• But the mastermind of Bangor's victory was midfielder Byrne.• A builder from South London, McAvoy was the mastermind of the robbery.mastermindmastermind2 verb [transitive] PLANto think of, plan, and organize a large, important, and difficult operation The project was masterminded by Morris, then aged 29. Ridley, as commerce secretary, masterminded the privatisation.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
mastermind• Well-known as a tough industrialist, he masterminded 50 company takeovers in one year.• The raid, one of the most daring crimes of the century, was masterminded by Italian playboy, Giovanni Cattani.• He faces trial on dozens of charges, including money laundering, drug trafficking and masterminding death squad killings.• She is accused of masterminding hijackings and kidnappings in the 70s.• Bordi is credited with breathing new life into ailing Ducati in the early 1990s, masterminding launches like the 916 and Monster.• They also argued that the evidence missing at the original trial showed that some one else could have masterminded the bombing.• Manson was convicted of masterminding the murder of Tate and six others.• Why did you invite me all the way out here from London to mastermind your publicity campaign, Roman?MastermindMastermind a popular British television quiz programme, in which people compete to see who can give the most correct answers in a fixed amount of time. The programme is known for the large black leather chair that each person sits in to answer their questions. If someone does not know the answer to a question, they say ‘Pass’ and the presenter, (1972–97 Magnus Magnusson, John Humphries 2004-) then asks the next question. If the time for a person’s questions finishes while the presenter is in the middle of a question, he says ‘I’ve started so I’ll finish’, and then continues with the question. People use both these expressions in a humorous way. 