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

Capó-Garcia, the current poet laureate of San Diego, and McFadden, Ventura County poet laureate, will share and reflect on their work over the years. —La Jolla Light, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025

Detroit’s poet laureate, Jessica Care Moore, has been selected as one of 23 poets nationwide to receive a 2025 Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets. —Nour Rahal, Freep.com, 8 Aug. 2025

Like so many others in the city, Christensen, the city’s poet laureate emerita and founding member of Fox Valley Music Foundation. —Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025

Co-editors are award-winning former Minneapolis poet laureate Heid E. Erdrich and Minnesota poet laureate Gwen Nell Westerman. —Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 3 Aug. 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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'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.

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