poet

noun

po·​et ˈpō-ət 

-it

also ˈpȯ(-)it

1

: one who writes poetry : a maker of verses

2

: one (such as a creative artist) of great imaginative and expressive capabilities and special sensitivity to the medium

Synonyms of poet

• minstrel
• muse
• bard

Examples of poet in a Sentence

Emily Dickinson is famous as the poet who rarely left the house but often journeyed to the depths of the human heart.

Recent Examples on the Web

The cosmonauts plonked down on November 19th, 1965 in the Midlands market town of Rugby, a cultural backwater best known for the sport, the school, and wartime poet Rupert Brooke, in that order. — Gabriel Szatan, Pitchfork, 18 Oct. 2026

In December 1833 George Sand traveled to Venice with her younger lover, the poet and novelist Alfred de Musset. — Kathryn Hughes, The New York Review of Books, 17 Oct. 2026

Plath is shown not as a passive victim of despair, but as a brilliant intellectual and visionary poet. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 16 Oct. 2026

Has the movie somehow justified, by stranding the poet, the family’s vain but common-sense view of life? — Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French poete, from Latin poeta, from Greek poiētēs maker, poet, from poiein to make; akin to Sanskrit cinoti he gathers, heaps up

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing poet

• poet laureate

Kids Definition

poet

noun

po·​et ˈpō-ət 

-it

: a person who writes poetry