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

Sze, 75, began his first term as poet laureate last fall, during a time of upheaval at the library. —ABC News, 14 Apr. 2026

The poet laureates of Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Orange County, among others, have been scheduled for 2026. —News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026

The Dallas Public Library, the Office of Arts and Culture and Deep Vellum, a local independent literary press, launched the Dallas poet laureate program in June 2021. —María Ramos Pacheco, Dallas Morning News, 8 Apr. 2026

Consider Jake Skeets, a professor at the University of Oklahoma and the third poet laureate of the Navajo Nation. —Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026

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