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

The urban aesthetic was augmented with a bluesy, funky score by composer Jim Lang, inspired by Thelonious Monk, Vince Guaraldi and Beck.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Fenton got his first job as composer and musical director for a production of Twelfth Night at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1974.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Like Clara, Brahms, too, had been financially strapped and made slow, fitful progress as a composer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Lawrence and others, concentrates on the young Brahms as the composer takes his first steps toward mastering all genres of music except opera.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

The immigrant Handel, a naturalised British citizen from 1727, demonstrated more successfully than any other composer before the nineteenth century how music could become the collective voice of nationhood.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Celebrated composers, from Monteverdi to Handel, Gluck and even Mozart, have written prominent roles with high male voices in mind.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Artists like Bandalos Chinos, Alex Anwandter and Zoé are really great composers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 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

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

We do some pieces from our repertoire and, now that we're alone, some forbidden composers, too.

From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper

Related Words

• writer