poem
Americannoun
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a composition in verse, especially one that is characterized by a highly developed artistic form and by the use of heightened language and rhythm to express an intensely imaginative interpretation of the subject.
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composition that, though not in verse, is characterized by great beauty of language or expression.
a prose poem from the Scriptures; a symphonic poem.
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something having qualities that are suggestive of or likened to those of poetry.
Marcel, that chicken cacciatore was an absolute poem.
noun
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a composition in verse, usually characterized by concentrated and heightened language in which words are chosen for their sound and suggestive power as well as for their sense, and using such techniques as metre, rhyme, and alliteration
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a literary composition that is not in verse but exhibits the intensity of imagination and language common to it
a prose poem
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anything resembling a poem in beauty, effect, etc
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of poem
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin poēma, from Greek poíēma “poem, something made,” from poiē- (variant stem of poieîn “to make”) + -ma, noun suffix
Explanation
A poem is written by composing lines of metrical feet (those are like beats or counts of syllables), arranged rhythmically. If you're looking to impress your crush, try penning a poem. Poetry is literature in metrical form, and a poem is what we call a piece of poetry. There are so many different kinds of poems it's almost impossible to define, but usually poems are written in short lines, and sometimes don't have too many lines. What counts in a poem is distilling something down, and finding the right words. If someone tells you that your Tweets are like little poems, then you must be a lovely writer.
Vocabulary lists containing poem
Reading: Literature - Poetry - Introductory
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Reading: Literature - Poetry - Middle School
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Reading: Literature - Middle School
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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 poem was first published as an Irish Times Poem of the Week before later appearing in Cullen's third collection, Conditional Perfect.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
These are collected in her posthumous “Inhabit the Poem: Last Essays.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025
In one, named “A Poem for Entangled Living,” a young team of environmental activist-printmakers crafted a pyramid with seesawing arms meant to suggest a world out of balance.
From New York Times • Feb. 2, 2024
It will be equipped with massive solar panels, several cameras, an instrument that can sniff out chemicals in the moon’s atmosphere—and a 21-line poem entitled “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa.”
From Scientific American • Jul. 7, 2023
“Symmetries” A Poem by Daniel Jae Ho Bae I will stay on my side.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
