playwright

American

[pley-rahyt] / ˈpleɪˌraɪt /

noun

a writer of plays; dramatist.

playwright British

/ ˈpleɪˌraɪt /

noun

a person who writes plays

"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

Etymology

Origin of playwright

First recorded in 1680–90; play + wright

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 actor stars in a solo off-Broadway show by David Cale about a playwright stumped by the blank page who finds a surprising, unsettling source of inspiration in the form of a stalker.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

The socialist playwright George Bernard Shaw appears several times rudely insulting converts he knew.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

For this, he had the assistance of actress Cate Blanchett and playwright Jeremy O. Harris.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

His performance in Horton Foote's one-act play The Midnight Caller led the playwright to recommend him for the role of Boo Radley in the 1962 film version of To Kill a Mockingbird.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

COLIC: colicky frolic: frolicked, frolicker, frolicking GARLIC: garlicky mimic: mimicked, mimicking panic: panicked, panicking, panicky picnic: picnicked, picnicker, picnicking POLITICS: politicker, politicking traffic: trafficked, trafficker, trafficking playwright.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

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