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

The intimate portrait of Colorado poet laureate Andrea Gibson, who faces a terminal diagnosis with a spirit of resilience, needed the boost. —Steve Dollar, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026

Colorado’s new poet laureate will help celebrate the state’s 150th anniversary — and the nation’s 250th — this year while continuing to teach kids about poetry, work with artists statewide, and advocate for the arts. —John Wenzel, Denver Post, 28 Jan. 2026

Co-produced by Tig Notaro, this documentary recounts the life of poet laureate and activist Andrea Gibson before her death in 2025. —Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2026

Premiering at Sundance for the 11th time, Araki used his pulpit there to pay tribute to the late Robert Redford for his foresight in establishing a creative outlet for minorities and outsider artists, a safe space that established him as cinema’s punk poet laureate of Generation X. —Damon Wise, Deadline, 23 Jan. 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