poet

¹ American  

[poh-it] / ˈpoʊ ɪt /

noun

1. a person who composes poetry.

   Synonyms:

   bard, versifier

2. a person who has the gift of poetic thought, imagination, and creation, together with eloquence of expression.

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poet. ² American  

abbreviation

1. poetic.

2. poetical.

3. poetry.

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poet British  

/ ˈpəʊɪt /

noun

1. a person who writes poetry

2. a person with great imagination and creativity

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Other Word Forms

• nonpoet noun
• poetless adjective
• poetlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of poet

1250–1300; Middle English poete < Latin poēta < Greek poiētḗs poet, literally, maker, equivalent to poiē-, variant stem of poieîn to make + -tēs agent noun suffix

Example Sentences

This coincidence—the two men aren’t related—called to mind the poem “Cathedral Builders” by Welsh poet John Ormond and equal to the mystical moment.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Leading her to the family vault of the Kanes … he knocked on the iron door, and repeated lines from the poet Longfellow’s “Psalm of Life.”

From Literature

The widely circulated photographs of the poet in old age make him a perfect visual counterpart to the widowed Queen Victoria, dressed in her perpetual mourning.

From The Wall Street Journal

Alas, in the fashion of the Romance poets, Lalo dies of tuberculosis soon after the show.

From The Wall Street Journal

The story of the first Carthaginian queen, Dido, was co-opted by the Roman poet Virgil, whose hero, Aeneas, spurns her.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• artist
• author
• dramatist
• lyricist
• writer