lyric

American  

[lir-ik] / ˈlɪr ɪk /

adjective

1. (of poetry) having the form and musical quality of a song, and especially the character of a songlike outpouring of the poet's own thoughts and feelings, as distinguished from epic and dramatic poetry.

2. pertaining to or writing lyric poetry.

   a lyric poet.

3. characterized by or expressing spontaneous, direct feeling.

   a lyric song; lyric writing.

4. pertaining to, rendered by, or employing singing.

5. (of a voice) relatively light of volume and modest in range.

   a lyric soprano.

6. pertaining, adapted, or sung to the lyre, or composing poems to be sung to the lyre.

   ancient Greek lyric odes.

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noun

• lyrics
  plural

1. a lyric poem.

2. Often lyrics. the words of a song.

lyric British  

/ ˈlɪrɪk /

adjective

1. 1. expressing the writer's personal feelings and thoughts

   2. having the form and manner of a song

2. of or relating to such poetry

3. (of music) having songlike qualities

4. (of a singing voice) having a light quality and tone

5. intended for singing, esp (in classical Greece) to the accompaniment of the lyre

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noun

1. a short poem of songlike quality

2. (plural) the words of a popular song

lyric Cultural  

1. A kind of poetry, generally short, characterized by a musical use of language. Lyric poetry often involves the expression of intense personal emotion. The elegy, the ode, and the sonnet are forms of the lyric poem.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lyricalness
  noun
• nonlyricalness
  noun
• unlyricalness
  noun
• nonlyric
  adjective
• nonlyrical
  adjective
• semilyric
  adjective
• semilyrical
  adjective
• unlyric
  adjective
• unlyrical
  adjective
• lyrically
  adverb
• nonlyrically
  adverb
• semilyrically
  adverb
• unlyrically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lyrics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lyric

1575–85; < Latin lyricus < Greek lyrikós. See lyre, -ic

Explanation

The word lyric claims its emotional place in music and poetry, with the words to a song being called the lyrics, while a lyric poem is one steeped in personal emotions, making it song-like. As with many artistic terms, the word lyric derives from the Greek, specifically from lyrikós, meaning "singing to the lyre," and today’s meanings are also rooted in the idea of music. The lyric poem was first seen in the late 16th Century, while the reference to a song’s words as lyrics appeared in 1876. If every one of your poems starts with the word "I," you might be a lyric poet.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lyric lyrics

In the aforementioned Vogue article, Charli played the interviewer a track called Rock Music, featuring the lyric: "I think the dancefloor is dead, so now we're making rock music".

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

For her, every song was a movie and every lyric was a story.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

The singer drops the mic to their chest mid-chorus and half the lyric disappears into the mix.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

A much-rumoured Kylie duet doesn't appear on Confessions II, but this would have been the perfect track for it; all brightness and light, with a loved-up lyric about a "movie star with deep blue eyes".

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Every lyric of “Amazing Grace” is consuming me, opening my eyes real wide.

From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles

“I got to be moved by those lyrics in a way that I couldn’t do in the film,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

The lyrics are sad but hopeful, a promise that broken people can find happiness.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

On no previous album had he focused so completely on starting with rhythm and harmony tracks and adding melodies and lyrics later.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Or at least it makes enough sense: In Mr. Simon’s own words, the lyrics “would come by you so quickly that all you would get was a feeling.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The musical forms, phrases, harmonies and the poetic structure reveal a great deal of material apart from the content of the lyrics.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin