Plath

American

[plath] / plæθ /

noun

Sylvia, 1932–63, U.S. poet.

Plath British

/ plæθ /

noun

Sylvia. 1932–63, US poet living in England. She wrote two volumes of verse, The Colossus (1960) and Ariel (1965), and a novel, The Bell Jar (1963): she was married to Ted Hughes

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

One of the most popular is called “Pursuing the Good Life”; this semester, readings included the Bible, Plato, Rousseau, Nietzsche and Dostoevsky, along with poetry by Sylvia Plath and music by Beethoven.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026

More than 60 years have passed since her death in 1963, yet the literary myth that has taken the name Sylvia Plath lives on.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026

Her favorite activity when she was a teen was to sit by her bedroom window while listening to Simon & Garfunkel and reading Sylvia Plath.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2024

The tragedy of her death mingling with the brilliance of her poetry made Plath an icon, but it also made her sadness and her tragic end her defining traits.

From Salon • May 7, 2024

The tiny terror was barely the size of a football, and answered to the name Plath.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023