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.

---

poet. ² American  

abbreviation

1. poetic.

2. poetical.

3. poetry.

---

poet British  

/ ˈpəʊɪt /

noun

1. a person who writes poetry

2. a person with great imagination and creativity

---

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

Explanation

If you’re a poet and you know it, you’re someone who writes poems. Poets have been charming people with their words ever since Orpheus sang his way to Hades and back. A poet is a writer who regularly publishes poems, but a poet can also be anyone who uses language creatively. Try it! The root of poet can be traced back to the Greek poein, "to make." Some poets write in carefully metered, rhyming lines, while others compose looser prose poems or "free verse," and the very best poets convey something that's essential or true. The Romantic poet William Wordsworth described good poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.”

Example Sentences

I wanted to be a comedian, I wanted to be a poet, and I wanted to be a photographer.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

“A diary is an assassin’s cloak which we wear when we stab a comrade in the back with a pen,” wrote William Soutar, a Scottish poet and diarist, in 1934.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

Tzruya “Suki” Lahav, a violinist and poet who played with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in the mid 1970’s on some of the band’s most beloved LPs, has died.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

The building is called the Virgil, which indicates that at least someone in the filmmaking process has heard of Dante’s “Inferno,” in which the Roman poet appears as hell’s tour guide.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

“I wanted to focus on Mr. Hughes first, but now I want each of you to find a poet you like, and we’ll practice writing a little poetry.”

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper

Related Words

• artist
• author
• dramatist
• lyricist
• writer