poem

noun

po·​em ˈpō-əm 

-im, 

ˈpōm

also ˈpȯ(-)im, 

ˈpō-ˌem 

1

: a composition in verse

2

: something suggesting a poem (as in expressiveness, lyricism, or formal grace)

The house we stayed in … was itself a poem.

—H. J. Laski

Synonyms of poem

• verse
• lyric
• song
• sonnet
• poetry

Examples of poem in a Sentence

He wrote a poem about his parents.

your assignment is to write two poems about springtime

Recent Examples on the Web

The poems push against the binaries of leaving and being left and embrace ongoing love in the wake of loss. — Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026

León-Portilla wrote extensively about the conquest of Mexico from the Mexica viewpoint, documented the philosophy of Aztec intellectuals and analyzed poems in Nahuatl — the language of the Mexica empire. — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026

Taken together, these masterworks mirror Prieto’s own process, which often uses chance as a springboard for composition and which harnesses ephemera — memories, scents, poems, or even architectural fragments — to create new work. — Jill Singer, Curbed, 14 Sep. 2026

At the fashionable Masel Tov restaurant, a poem by the Jewish wartime hero Hannah Szenes marks a fragment of wall, part of a ghetto where 70,000 Jewish people lived for several weeks between December 1944 and January 1945. — Lucy Handley, CNBC, 14 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle French poeme, from Latin poema, from Greek poiēma, from poiein

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing poem

• found poem
• heroic poem
• prose poem
• symphonic poem
• tone poem

Rhymes for poem

• jeroboam
• rehoboam

Kids Definition

poem

noun

po·​em ˈpō-əm  -im 

ˈpōm

also ˈpō-ˌem

: a composition in verse