composer
Americannoun
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a person who composes music
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a person or machine that composes anything, esp type for printing
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
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Academy Awards, List 3
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Music - Middle School
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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.
In his prime, Salieri was a solid songsmith, popular enough to secure a gig as court composer to Emperor Joseph II in Vienna.
From Salon • May 16, 2026
Even classical music listeners have their version in what may be the most legendary rivalry of all — the one that also-ran Italian composer Antonio Salieri supposedly nursed with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
From Salon • May 16, 2026
The romantic legend was that the composer was by then so successful and wealthy that he moved to a Paris townhouse and gave sumptuous parties and musicales for the rest of his life.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Paddington Bear, Glastonbury chief Emily Eavis, actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge, singer Camila Cabello and composer Hans Zimmer also paid tribute to Sir David in pre-recorded birthday tributes.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
The new musical style was already well under way by the time Mozart was a young composer, and he grew up in a Europe experiencing a sea change in cultural attitudes.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
