playwright
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of playwright
Explanation
A playwright is someone who writes plays. Playwrights are also known as dramatists. Just as a poet writes poems, a playwright writes plays. If the spelling of playwright looks odd, that's because wright is a word for a craftsperson or someone who builds things (like a shipwright builds ships). Given the juggling of characters, scenes, and plots in a play, you can see how writing a play is like building something. The most famous playwright ever in English is William Shakespeare.
Vocabulary lists containing playwright
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Reading: Literature - Drama - Introductory
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Shakespeare
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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.
Aaron Flores, who runs a group for fans of Tigres, a Mexican club, loves the Playwright, an Irish bar in Midtown.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
Playwright Jonathan Spector rewrote lines in “Eureka Day” because laughter drowned out key dialogue and backstage cues.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
Playwright Justin Tanner stars in his new solo show, ‘My Son the Playwright,’ which is having its world premiere in a Rogue Machine production, directed by Lisa James.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
She eventually landed in New York, working at Playwright Horizons, an off-Broadway theater.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2025
Who cares if Mrs. Windermere was taking forever being The Playwright out in the lobby?
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
