playwright

American  

[play-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

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Etymology

Origin of playwright

First recorded in 1680–90; play + wright

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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

Their Sicilian captors turn out to be fans of the playwright.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Cole was married twice – first to playwright and theatrical fight director Henry Marshall, whom she divorced in 1988.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

“I don’t know if I had grown up in New York City that I would be a playwright today, because I think I would have been way too intimidated,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

It is an adaptation of a play by British playwright James Graham, which ran in the West End and Broadway between 2017 and 2019.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

Welles appeared two days later in Houseman's office, eager to formally audition for the part in front of the playwright, Archibald MacLeish.

From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow

“I mean, I get one of the great American playwrights, one of the great American directors, and a perfect scene partner, I’m a pretty happy guy.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

I’m traditionally more resistant to playwrights fiddling around with Shakespeare than I am with them updating Greek tragedy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

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

From Salon ● Jul. 6, 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

She did her graduate work at NYU, and for three weeks the four of us stayed in the city and socialized with her former teachers and classmates—novelists, playwrights, screenwriters, poets.

From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven

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