0 a person or an organization that pays for something to happen and therefore has or expects to have some control over it: --
The government accused the opposition parties of being controlled by trade union paymasters.
1 a person or an organization that pays for something, and has or expects to have some control over it: --
2 a person or an organization that is in charge of paying people the money they have earned: --
They look with confidence, as did the eighteenth century landlords, because they are the paymasters.
There was rarely a settlement as a result of the negotiations between the teachers, the local authorities and the paymasters.
They may, no doubt, reject a certain number of films, but they have to keep in with their paymasters.
There is normally a large number of paymasters.
Paymasters' offices are distributed all over the country and are not in one central bureau.
At that time he was trying to impress his foreign paymasters with the extent of his deflationary measures.
They are its paymasters and, to a large extent, it will do what it is told.
There are sergeant-majors promoted to the rank of assistant-paymasters.
