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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

mast.

A tall, slim post or tower, usually tapering upward, used to support, for example, sails or observation platforms on a ship, the main rotor of a helicopter, flags, floodlights, meteorological instruments, or communications equipment, such as an aerial, usually supported by guy-wires (except in the case of a helicopter).

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/mɑːst/Received-Pronunciation/mæst/Canada, Northern-England, US
  1. A tall, slim post or tower, usually tapering upward, used to support, for example, sails or observation platforms on a ship, the main rotor of a helicopter, flags, floodlights, meteorological instruments, or communications equipment, such as an aerial, usually supported by guy-wires (except in the case of a helicopter).

  2. A non-judicial punishment ("NJP"); a disciplinary hearing under which a commanding officer studies and disposes of cases involving those under his command.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English mast, from Old English mæst (“mast”), from Proto-West Germanic *mast, from Proto-Germanic *mastaz (“mast, sail-pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *mazdos (“pole, mast”). Cognate with Dutch mast, German Mast, and via Indo-European with Latin mālus, Russian мост (most, “bridge”), Irish adhmad.

verb/mɑːst/Received-Pronunciation/mæst/Canada, Northern-England, US
  1. To supply and fit a mast to (a ship).

Where this word comes from

From Middle English mast, from Old English mæst (“mast”), from Proto-West Germanic *mast, from Proto-Germanic *mastaz (“mast, sail-pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *mazdos (“pole, mast”). Cognate with Dutch mast, German Mast, and via Indo-European with Latin mālus, Russian мост (most, “bridge”), Irish adhmad.

noun/mɑːst/Received-Pronunciation/mæst/Canada, Northern-England, US
  1. The fruit of forest-trees (beech, oak, chestnut, pecan, etc.), especially if having fallen from the tree, used as fodder for pigs and other animals.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Old English mæst (“fallen nuts, food for swine”) and mæstan (“to fatten”), from West Germanic; probably related to meat.

verb/mɑːst/Received-Pronunciation/mæst/Canada, Northern-England, US
  1. To feed on forest seed or fruit.

  2. To produce a very large quantity of fruit or seed in certain years but not others.

Where this word comes from

From Old English mæst (“fallen nuts, food for swine”) and mæstan (“to fatten”), from West Germanic; probably related to meat.

noun/mɑːst/Received-Pronunciation/mæst/Canada, Northern-England, US
  1. The anabolic steroid drostanolone propionate, also known as Masteron

    slang · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Clipping of Masteron.

noun/mɑːst/Received-Pronunciation/mæst/Canada, Northern-England, US
  1. A type of heavy cue, with the broad end of which one strikes the ball.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

From French masse, with -t probably after Etymology 1, above.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.