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

One thing Howard did not plan for, however, was a poem written and edited in tandem by Michigan's poet laureate, Melba Joyce Boyd, and John Percy Boyd. —Liam Rappleye, Freep.com, 4 Oct. 2025

Pulitzer Prize finalist and translator Arthur Sze, 74, is the nation’s newest poet laureate, the Library of Congress announced Monday. —Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 15 Sep. 2025

He was also named as the first poet laureate of Santa Fe and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for his book Compass Rose. —James Folta, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2025

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

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