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

But today’s traditionalist poets, who accompanied the liberation parade from Idlib to the Umayyad capital, get off on the cognates of salvage and salvation and on the prefixes of survival and revival. —Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026

The singers speaking will be UC San Diego professor Anthony Davis, singers Justin Austin and J’Nai Bridges, and poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph. —Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026

Dora Prieto is a Mexican-Canadian poet and translator based in the Bay Area as a 2025–27 Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford. —© Adri Montes, Hazlitt, 11 Jan. 2026

Paul Mescal, 29, stars as the popular playwright and poet. —Brian Anthony Hernandez, PEOPLE, 11 Jan. 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