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

• bard
• minstrel
• muse
• poetaster
• rhymester
• rimester
• versifier

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

The poet, too, filled his darkness with a divine stream of words, and through these words a whole cosmos spun into view. —Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024

The exhibition’s title Sailing to Byzantium comes from a 1927 poem by William Butler Yeats, where the poet uses a sea voyage to Byzantium as a metaphor for a spiritual journey. —Lee Sharrock, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024

Born as Yolande Cornelia Giovanni, Jr. June 7, 1943 in Knoxville, Giovanni was a prolific and well-regarded poet who initially gained attention in the late 1960s as part of the Black Arts Movement after graduating from Nashville’s Fisk University. —Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 10 Dec. 2024

Giovanni is one of the world's most famed African American poets, gaining notoriety in the late 1960s as part of the Black Arts Movement. —Allie Clouse, The Enquirer, 10 Dec. 2024

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