playwright

American  

[pley-rahyt] / ˈpleɪˌraɪt /

noun

playwrights plural

1. a writer of plays; dramatist.

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playwright British  

/ ˈpleɪˌraɪt /

noun

1. a person who writes plays

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• playwrights
  plural

Etymology

Origin of playwright

First recorded in 1680–90; play + wright

Explanation

A playwright is someone who writes plays. Playwrights are also known as dramatists. Just as a poet writes poems, a playwright writes plays. If the spelling of playwright looks odd, that's because wright is a word for a craftsperson or someone who builds things (like a shipwright builds ships). Given the juggling of characters, scenes, and plots in a play, you can see how writing a play is like building something. The most famous playwright ever in English is William Shakespeare.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

playwright playwrights

The darker strains in his comedies have been drawn out by directors eager to show there’s more to the playwright than his drawing room panache.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

In 2028, the company will present “Good Bones,” a collaboration between two Pulitzer Prize winners: Composer Michael Abels, known for his scores for Jordan Peele films, and playwright James Ijames, author of “Fat Ham.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

In the audience was the "Medaaye" playwright Femi Osofisan, the first African to receive the prestigious Thalia Prize, in 2016.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

The opera was composed by Still with a libretto from the Missouri-born poet, playwright, novelist and social activist Langston Hughes, who connected Haiti’s struggle for freedom to his home country’s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

Penelope was not a playwright, like Simon, but she had once attended nearly all of the first act of a show in the West End, so she was no stranger to stagecraft, either.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

Soon after, wannabe authoritarians attack the comedians, essayists, playwrights and poets.

From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026

ATG Entertainment said renaming the venue the Tom Stoppard Theatre would be a "lasting tribute... to one of the most influential playwrights in British theatre".

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

The current generation of playwrights has revealed itself to be remarkably resilient and independent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Lucy Kirkwood, Penelope Skinner, Timberlake Wertenbaker and Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti are also among more than 70 UK-based playwrights taking part.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

And when, in the dim stairwell, they kissed, the girl believed that this was what the poets and playwrights meant when they wrote of love.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny