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

Colorado’s former poet laureate Andrea Gibson confronts the final stretch of their four-year cancer battle with wife Megan Falley in Come See Me in the Good Light. —Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 11 Mar. 2026

Capó-García, who is originally from Puerto Rico, was named San Diego’s latest poet laureate in February 2025. —Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026

Montoya was Sacramento’s poet laureate from 2002 to 2004. —Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 23 Feb. 2026

The author of more than 3,000 poems, Williams published four books, according to Christine, and at one point was named poet laureate for Honor Flight Chicago. —Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 22 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for poet laureate

• baccalaureate

Video

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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