sonnet

noun

son·​net ˈsä-nət 

: a fixed verse form of Italian origin consisting of 14 lines that are typically 5-foot iambics rhyming according to a prescribed scheme

also : a poem in this pattern

Examples of sonnet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Millay’s sonnets reckon with the end of love not in a spirit of swooning regret but with brisk, sometimes cynical acceptance. —A.o. Scott, New York Times, 1 May 2025

But in those years, Shakespeare would produce a bounty of plays, sonnets and poems that have been studied, modernized, adapted, saturized and lionized for decades. —Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 24 Apr. 2025

Read: Let our critic guide you through the power and paradox of an old-school sonnet. —Natasha Frost, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025

Artificial intelligence has never been more powerful, constantly expanding its litany of flexes — from generating sonnets and fantastical images to believably mimicking emotions, all while churning through mountains of data faster than any human being could. —Adriana Lee, WWD, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Italian sonetto, from Old Occitan sonet little song, from son sound, song, from Latin sonus sound

First Known Use

circa 1555, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing sonnet

• English sonnet
• Italian sonnet
• Petrarchan sonnet
• Shakespearean sonnet
• sonnet sequence

Rhymes for sonnet

• propionate

Kids Definition

sonnet

noun

son·​net ˈsän-ət 

: a poem of 14 lines usually rhyming by a fixed scheme