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 She was named the 2022-23 poet laureate of Philadelphia. Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2024 Taylor became a legend as the poet laureate of teen romance. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2024 Taylor Swift, the new poet laureate of pop, released her 11th album and with it a song that is so quintessentially Taylor. Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024 More books and honors followed — poet-in-residence, National Book Award finalist, University of Michigan professorship, Academy of American Poets fellowship — culminating in his 1976 Bicentennial appointment as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, known now as poet laureate. Tom Stanton, Detroit Free Press, 23 Mar. 2024 New poet laureate The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors last month appointed San Jose resident Yosimar Reyes to the honorary post of Santa Clara County Poet Laureate for a two-year term ending Dec. 31, 2025. Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2024 The state initially defended its lack of action before reversing course and appointing Michigan's first poet laureate since 1952. Detroit Free Press, 7 Jan. 2024 Only the state didn't seem to have a poet laureate, despite already having funded that position for a year and a half. Detroit Free Press, 7 Jan. 2024 This fall, something out among the stars will be staring back at Limón, who grew up to become the U.S. poet laureate. John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'poet laureate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of poet laureate was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near poet laureate

Cite this Entry

“Poet laureate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poet%20laureate. Accessed 2 May. 2024.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on poet laureate

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