poet

noun

po·​et ˈpō-ət 

-it

also ˈpȯ(-)it

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

Synonyms of poet

• minstrel
• muse
• bard

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 on the Web

While Buckley's Bride finds new agency on their road trip, Bale’s Frank is a complementary partner-in-crime, exuding tough-guy swagger but also man-child innocence as a vulnerable brute with a poet’s soul. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 4 Mar. 2026

Hell moved to New York City in the late sixties, a seventeen-year-old runaway from Kentucky, and began a career as a poet. —Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026

Critic, poet, and publisher Giancarlo Politi, founder of the influential contemporary art journal Flash Art, one of the first international publications of its kind, died on February 24. —News Desk, Artforum, 3 Mar. 2026

His interior life—that which feeds the poet, let alone one as attuned to nuance and the glamour of social life as Merrill—had grown stale. —Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing poet

• poet laureate

Kids Definition

poet

noun

po·​et ˈpō-ət 

-it

: a person who writes poetry