noun
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a person who writes the words for a song, opera, or musical play
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Also called: lyrist. a lyric poet
Etymology
Origin of lyricist
Explanation
A lyricist is an artist who writes the words to songs. While Leonard Bernstein composed the music for West Side Story, Stephen Sondheim was the lyricist. A song's words are lyrics, and the person who writes them is a lyricist. Originally, these terms described a kind of musical poetry and the poet who specialized in the form: the Greek root lyrikos means "singing to the lyre." Today, lyricists write the words that a vocalist will sing. Sometimes they write the music too, though lyricists often collaborate with composers to create a song.
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.
The 83-year-old confessional lyricist said in a statement that she had "been learning how to live with Parkinson's disease" and that she had also been treated for skin cancer.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
As a great lyricist once observed: Only when she's dancing can she feel this free.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Hammerstein, the musical’s lyricist, conceived the song with the great black baritone Paul Robeson in mind, and constructed it himself using music that Kern had already composed for the production.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
“If you think you’re the best lyricist, you must be using the Wu-Tang sword, and so we’re the Wu-Tang Clan. We felt we were the best lyricists in hip-hop.”
From Salon ● May 31, 2026
You might well be the lyricist of an all-time hit.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
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.
