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

Routinely dubbed a “bad boy” when he debuted as a young playwright, Mr. McDonagh is now in his 50s and seems newly concerned with the human need for connection, even among horrible men.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Margaret P. Hannay’s revelatory investigation of Sidney’s life shows how she assembled an impressive circle of literary talent; the poet and playwright Samuel Daniel described her as the “great patroness” of his “humble rhymes.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

She recalled watching her brother play King Duncan in Macbeth when she was nine and said the moment sparked her passion for the playwright.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

You know him for countless roles — the self-important playwright Barton Fink or the purple jumpsuit-rocking bowler whom nobody messes with in “The Big Lebowski.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

“My dear Mr. Harley-Dickinson,” she wrote, addressing a playwright friend of hers who had briefly and memorably visited Ashton Place some weeks before, and who was never very far from her mind.

From "The Interrupted Tale" 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

We also spotlight a new generation of playwrights reimagining Americanness with a sense of hope that America’s best years are still ahead of us.

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

Poets, philosophers and playwrights gushed and paid homage to him, including T. S. Eliot, James Joyce and Oscar Wilde, whose sinister Dorian Gray was an early Wagnerite.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

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