Shakespeare

American  

[sheyk-speer] / ˈʃeɪk spɪər /

Or Shakspere,

noun

1. William, the Bard of Avon, 1564–1616, English poet and dramatist.

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Shakespeare British  

/ ˈʃeɪkspɪə /

noun

1. William. 1564–1616, English dramatist and poet. He was born and died at Stratford-upon-Avon but spent most of his life as an actor and playwright in London. His plays with approximate dates of composition are: Henry VI, Parts I–III (1590); Richard III (1592); The Comedy of Errors (1592); Titus Andronicus (1593); The Taming of the Shrew (1593); The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594); Love's Labour's Lost (1594); Romeo and Juliet (1594); Richard II (1595); A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595); King John (1596); The Merchant of Venice (1596); Henry IV, Parts I–II (1597); Much Ado about Nothing (1598); Henry V (1598); Julius Caesar (1599); As You Like It (1599); Twelfth Night (1599); Hamlet (1600); The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600); Troilus and Cressida (1601); All's Well that ends Well (1602); Measure for Measure (1604); Othello (1604); King Lear (1605); Macbeth (1605); Antony and Cleopatra (1606); Coriolanus (1607); Timon of Athens (1607); Pericles (1608); Cymbeline (1609); The Winter's Tale (1610); The Tempest (1611); and, possibly in collaboration with John Fletcher, Two Noble Kinsmen (1612) and Henry VIII (1612). His Sonnets, variously addressed to a fair young man and a dark lady, were published in 1609

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Other Word Forms

• pre-Shakespeare
  adjective

Example Sentences

The Surrey-born actress joined the Royal Shakespeare company in 1963 and went on to win an Olivier Award for best comedy performance in 1976, for her role in the play Donkey's Years.

From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026

Kingsley’s first job as an actor was performing Shakespeare in schools.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026

That winter, he and Chakrabarti pored over the works of Paul Cret, the French-American architect who designed the Federal Reserve, the Folger Shakespeare Library and other buildings around Washington and beyond.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026

The sentencing of Tyler Burley, 18, of Shakespeare Road in Southampton, was adjourned until 30 June for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026

A touring Shakespeare company had let Loma try out after their performance in Cold Sassy’s brush arbor and then asked her to join the troupe.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns