poet laureate

noun

plural poets laureate or poet laureates

1

: a poet honored for achievement

2

a

: a poet appointed for life by an English sovereign as a member of the royal household and formerly expected to compose poems for court and national occasions

b

: a poet appointed annually by the U.S. Library of Congress as a consultant and typically involved in the promotion of poetry

3

: one regarded by a country or region as its most eminent or representative poet

Examples of poet laureate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Wilson was called the poet laureate of surf culture. —Lee Cowan, CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025

Chronicling the Colorado poet laureate’s relationship, work and battle with cancer, Ryan White’s Sundance-premiering film is available to stream on Apple TV. —Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 23 Dec. 2025

The nonprofit noted the poet laureate program was at risk. —Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 4 Dec. 2025

He was also appointed the first ever poet laureate of Miami-Dade County. —Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 14 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for poet laureate

• baccalaureate

Video

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Kids Definition

poet laureate

noun

plural poets laureate or poet laureates

1

: a poet appointed by an English ruler as a member of the royal household and formerly expected to write poems for court and national occasions

2

: a poet regarded by a country or region as its most outstanding