noun
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a person who writes the words for a song, opera, or musical play
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Also called: lyrist. a lyric poet
Etymology
Origin of lyricist
Explanation
A lyricist is an artist who writes the words to songs. While Leonard Bernstein composed the music for West Side Story, Stephen Sondheim was the lyricist. A song's words are lyrics, and the person who writes them is a lyricist. Originally, these terms described a kind of musical poetry and the poet who specialized in the form: the Greek root lyrikos means "singing to the lyre." Today, lyricists write the words that a vocalist will sing. Sometimes they write the music too, though lyricists often collaborate with composers to create a song.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lyricist, director and writer of “The Fantasticks,” the longest-running musical in history.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 31, 2023
Lyricist Lorenz Hart died in New York at age 48.
From Washington Times • Nov. 22, 2020
Lyricist Ahrens and composer Flaherty, the team behind “Ragtime” and the hit “Anastasia,” needn’t have worried.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2018
Lyricist Oscar Hammerstein had nuns in “The Sound of Music” sing of Martin’s character as “a moonbeam,” “a wave upon the sand.”
From Washington Post • Jul. 7, 2016
Lyricist Don Black, who wrote the song Born Free, which Williams recorded in the '60s, described him as the "ultimate professional".
From BBC • Sep. 26, 2012
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
