lyric

American  

[lir-ik] / ˈlɪr ɪk /

adjective

1. (of poetry) having the form and musical quality of a song, and especially the character of a songlike outpouring of the poet's own thoughts and feelings, as distinguished from epic and dramatic poetry.

2. pertaining to or writing lyric poetry.

   a lyric poet.

3. characterized by or expressing spontaneous, direct feeling.

   a lyric song; lyric writing.

4. pertaining to, rendered by, or employing singing.

5. (of a voice) relatively light of volume and modest in range.

   a lyric soprano.

6. pertaining, adapted, or sung to the lyre, or composing poems to be sung to the lyre.

   ancient Greek lyric odes.

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noun

lyrics plural

1. a lyric poem.

2. Often lyrics. the words of a song.

lyric British  

/ ˈlɪrɪk /

adjective

1. 1. expressing the writer's personal feelings and thoughts

   2. having the form and manner of a song

2. of or relating to such poetry

3. (of music) having songlike qualities

4. (of a singing voice) having a light quality and tone

5. intended for singing, esp (in classical Greece) to the accompaniment of the lyre

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noun

1. a short poem of songlike quality

2. (plural) the words of a popular song

lyric Cultural  

1. A kind of poetry, generally short, characterized by a musical use of language. Lyric poetry often involves the expression of intense personal emotion. The elegy, the ode, and the sonnet are forms of the lyric poem.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lyricalness
  noun
• nonlyricalness
  noun
• unlyricalness
  noun
• nonlyric
  adjective
• nonlyrical
  adjective
• semilyric
  adjective
• semilyrical
  adjective
• unlyric
  adjective
• unlyrical
  adjective
• lyrically
  adverb
• nonlyrically
  adverb
• semilyrically
  adverb
• unlyrically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lyrics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lyric

1575–85; < Latin lyricus < Greek lyrikós. See lyre, -ic

Explanation

The word lyric claims its emotional place in music and poetry, with the words to a song being called the lyrics, while a lyric poem is one steeped in personal emotions, making it song-like. As with many artistic terms, the word lyric derives from the Greek, specifically from lyrikós, meaning "singing to the lyre," and today’s meanings are also rooted in the idea of music. The lyric poem was first seen in the late 16th Century, while the reference to a song’s words as lyrics appeared in 1876. If every one of your poems starts with the word "I," you might be a lyric poet.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lyric lyrics

Three bottles in, Lightbody stumbled on a chord sequence and a lyric: "If I lay here / If I just lay here / Would you lie with me and just breathe in the world?"

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

For her, every song was a movie and every lyric was a story.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

As Juliet, Emma Marhefka’s lyric soprano was best in dramatic moments, such as Act 4’s poison aria; as Romeo, Leonardo Sánchez tended to overcook his tenor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

Its most famous lyric is: “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need.”

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

“What else? Homer, surely. And the lyric poets.”

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

In the lyrics, the singer professes his love for a girl called Celeste over a melancholy piano line, saying: "I hear her voice each time I take a breath".

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

She was generally right on target for the dramatic stories related, as take-charge and cheeky, witty, or sobbing and heartbroken as the lyrics required.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Written after Lopez was starstruck by a woman, its first lyrics begin in wondrous marvel: “Tal vez fue tu mirada,” or, “Perhaps it was your gaze.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

Indeed, her 1964 signature hit "Downtown", which sold millions and earned her a Grammy award, had no lyrics when she first heard composer Tony Hatch playing it on the piano.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

I mostly filled mine with song lyrics, copied in my biggest, sloppiest handwriting.

From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller