composer

American  

[kuhm-poh-zer] / kəmˈpoʊ zər /

noun

• composers
  plural

1. a person or thing that composes.

2. a person who writes music.

3. an author.

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composer British  

/ kəmˈpəʊzə /

noun

1. a person who composes music

2. a person or machine that composes anything, esp type for printing

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• composers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of composer

First recorded in 1555–65; compose + -er ¹

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

composer composers

A 42-year-old composer, Cerrone said their property-tax bill has continued to rise ever since.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, writer and composer Richard O'Brien, who co-wrote the musical and film, remembered the actor as "a wonderful man by nature who was also a wonderful performer".

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Everything in between is a dream, at least according to Anthony Hopkins, composer of orchestral music.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Pintscher was enticed to the Salzburg Festival as part of this summer’s homage to the ageless Hungarian composer György Kurtág, who turned 100 this year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

It is hardly surprising that a composer like Schubert should be attracted to poetic texts that placed emotions in the relative safety of natural metaphor.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

A bill, known as AB 2319 and aimed at supporting the industry’s editors, sound mixers, composers and visual effects artists, passed the Senate on Sunday, marking the state’s first-ever stand-alone postproduction tax incentive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

Besides Berlioz, the lineup featured works by composers from the 18th to early 20th centuries, such as Franz Joseph Haydn and Paul Dukas, that have long been in the public domain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

The regulator quickly confirmed that the works were by composers who really were dead and no fees were required.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

Yet despite several of these being substantial works by some of our most noted and venturesome composers, few bicentennial commissions have survived.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Never before had humanity so badly needed its music to share the burden of anxiety, and composers everywhere answered this plaint.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• writer