maven
Syllables: ma·ven/ˈmeɪvn̩/US/ˈmeɪv(ə)n/
maven noun: an expert in a given field; also, a person who is interested in and knowledgeable about a particular activity or thing; an aficionado.
Noun
maven (plural mavens)
- An expert in a given field; also, a person who is interested in and knowledgeable about a particular activity or thing; an aficionado.
- Connectors know people—lots of people. Mavens know about things. They know, or find out first, what is going on. Connectors, says [Malcolm] Gladwell, need mavens to tell them what to buzz about.2003, Joseph H. Boyett, Jimmie T. Boyett, “All You Need is Buzz”, in The Guru Guide to Marketing: A Concise Guide to the Best Ideas from Today’s Top Marketers, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons...
- Besides an executive sponsor, you need to find a technology maven, someone within the company who understands the new technology. A maven, as defined in Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, is a person who has both information and the social skills to pass it along. The challenge in a situation...2006 January 23, Virginia Robbins, “Opinion: Eight Steps to Leadership”, in Dan Tennant, editor, Computerworld: The Voice of IT Management, volume 40, number 4, Framingham, Mass.: Computerworld...
- Synonyms:
- cognoscente, connoisseur, adept, ace, artist, buff, crackerjack, crack hand, dab, dab hand
- Antonyms:
- abecedarian, alphabetarian, apprentice, amateur, beginner, bun, colt, first-timer, fledgling, FNG
Proper noun capitalized: MAVEN
MAVEN
maven meaning in Arabic
maven in Arabic
- expert in a given field — see also expert
- خَبِير ḵabīr
Examples of maven in a sentence
- Besides an executive sponsor, you need to find a technology maven, someone within the company who understands the new technology.2006 January 23, Virginia Robbins, “Opinion: Eight Steps to Leadership”, in Dan Tennant, editor, Computerworld: The Voice of IT Management...
- The goal for any media company is to be a maven—and therefore highly adept at using multiple channels of social media communication well.2010, Rachel Davis Mersey, “Paying for It All”, in Can Journalism Be Saved?: Rediscovering America’s Appetite for News, Santa Barbara...
Synonyms of maven
15 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
10 more antonymsFewer antonyms
Forms of maven
| plural | mavens |
|---|---|
| alternative form | mavin |
| alternative form | mayven |
| alternative form | mayvin |
Origin of maven
From Yiddish מבֿין (meyvn, “connoisseur, expert, know-it-all”), from Hebrew מֵבִין (mevín, “one who understands, connoisseur, expert”), from הֵבִין (hevín, “to understand”). The word is said to have been popularized by its use in an advertising campaign for Vita Herring launched in the United States in 1964, which had a character called the “beloved [herring] maven” promoting the product.
Words formed from maven
Words that rhyme with maven
Questions about maven
- What does maven mean?
- Maven means an expert in a given field; also, a person who is interested in and knowledgeable about a particular activity or thing; an aficionado.
- What is maven in Arabic?
- Maven in Arabic is خَبِير (ḵabīr). See Maven meaning in Arabic.
- How do you use maven in a sentence?
- Besides an executive sponsor, you need to find a technology maven, someone within the company who understands the new technology.
- What part of speech is maven?
- Maven can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce maven?
- Maven is pronounced /ˈmeɪvn̩/ (UK).
- What is the plural of maven?
- The plural of maven is mavens.
Words near maven in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: maven (page history and authors); MAVEN (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-maven.wav.
Cite this entry: “maven.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/maven. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.