composer
Americannoun
-
a person who composes music
-
a person or machine that composes anything, esp type for printing
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of composer
Explanation
A composer is an artist who writes music to be played or performed by musicians. A classical composer might work by writing out musical notation and trying things out on the piano. If you're a composer, you most likely write classical, jazz, music for film, or another type of primarily instrumental music, without lyrics. A writer of popular or rock music is more likely to be called a "songwriter." A composer might compose symphonies as a profession, or write short tunes as a hobby. In Old French, composer means "put together, arrange, or write," from com-, "with," and poser, "to place."
Vocabulary lists containing composer
Music - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Academy Awards, List 3
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Music - Middle School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
As such, he was given a measure of financial stability, and the prolific composer turned out five more symphonies over the next dozen years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Musician and composer Neil Martin, who had collaborated with Lunny throughout his career described the loss as "huge" and said he was an "extraordinary figure".
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Some such tracks feature electronic noise and effects from experimental Japanese composer Ryoji Ikeda, like “Xerox Altalink B8055,” which has dialogue from a spot for industrial conglomerate 3M.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
The sixth annual fundraiser honored Oscar winner Charlize Theron with the Icon Award, filmmaker and composer John Carpenter with the Luminary Award and Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo with the Vantage Award.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
And Beethoven was the composer who began this transformation.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
The movie, which has Hindi and English versions, has been scored by Oscar-winning composers Hans Zimmer and A.R.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
To achieve that, she commissioned additional music from film trailer composers, including Hans Zimmer's company Bleeding Fingers.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
College taught me to investigate the “great” composers who mattered and disdain those of no value.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Through constant touring and “tireless promotion of composers we assume were always famous,” Ms. Fritz writes, Clara shaped the musical canon according to her own exquisite ear and sophisticated taste.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
From Perotin in 1200 to Machaut in 1350, composers had enjoyed the resonant, sonorous effect of simultaneous notes in clusters, or chords.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
