poet

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noun po·et \ ˈpō-ət , -it also ˈpȯ(-)it \

Definition of poet

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

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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 of poet from the Web

Live entertainment by musicians, poets and creatives.

— rasputin todd, Cincinnati.com, "Things to do this week: Aug. 28-Sept. 4," 28 Aug. 2017
Todd, best know for editing the works of poet Emily Dickinson, penned this stirring account of eclipse totality:

— jason samenow, Washington Post, "These powerful, moving solar eclipse reflections will compel you to watch on Aug. 21," 11 Aug. 2017
The Making of the English Working Class), Paul Foot’s Red Shelley (as in the poet Percy Bysshe), William Blake, and the rest of the English radical tradition had risen from the embers.

— james wolcott, The Hive, "The Bromance of Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron, Gen X Dynamos of Democracy," 9 Aug. 2017
The book was first published in 1947, at which time Brown was living with the poet Michael Strange in Manhattan in a small cottage called Cobble Court.

— philip bump, Washington Post, "Goodnight, Too-Large-to-Be-Astronomically-Accurate Moon," 18 July 2017
In an Instagram post this weekend, Lawson shared a few choice stanzas by the 13th-century poet Rumi, seemingly an indirect way of confirming that was Beyoncé and Jay Z's inspiration behind the moniker for Rumi Carter.

— melissa minton, Glamour, "The Inspiration for Rumi Carter's Name Was Just Explained by Tina Knowles," 17 July 2017
Baraka was a poet, playwright and political activist.

— CBS News, "The legacy of the Newark riots, half a century later," 15 July 2017
McClure's choleric Nick and Grisetti's sensitive-poet Nigel balance each other nicely.

— kerry reid, chicagotribune.com, "Nothing succeeds like excess in the Shakes-spoof 'Something Rotten!'," 13 July 2017
Spend an evening with Kentucky’s new poet laureate, Frederick Smock, on Tuesday, July 11 at the Louisville Free Public Library, 301 York St. Smock is a Louisville native and a professor of English at Bellarmine University.

— kirby adams, The Courier-Journal, "Kentucky's new poet laureate is an English Professor at Bellarmine," 10 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'poet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of poet

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

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poet Synonyms

Synonyms

bard, minstrel, muse, poetaster, rhymester (also rimester), versifier

Related Words

poetess; poet laureate; scop, troubadour; epigrammatist, epigrammatizer, lyricist, rhymer, sonneteer; rhapsode, rhapsodist

POET Defined for English Language Learners

poet

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noun

Definition of poet for English Language Learners

: a person who writes poems

POET Defined for Kids

poet

play

noun po·et \ ˈpō-ət \

Definition of poet for Students

:a writer of poems

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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for poet Spanish Central: Translation of poet Nglish: Translation of poet for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of poet for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about poet

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