playwright

American  

[pley-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

Etymology

Origin of playwright

First recorded in 1680–90; play + wright

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

It was a heady time for a playwright thrust into the red carpet spotlight.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

It is an adaptation of a play by British playwright James Graham, which ran in the West End and Broadway between 2017 and 2019.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

The artwork was created in 2013 by the late Scottish playwright, artist and designer John Byrne.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

There is certainly an unhurried pace to poet and playwright Andri Snær Magnason’s ruminations on his island nation’s disappearing glaciers, and a meditative quality to the film’s startlingly beautiful visuals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Everyone was settled and the playwright was about to begin her little speech summarizing the plot and evoking the excitement of performing before an adult audience tomorrow evening in the library.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

There’s a comic trope beloved by playwrights, novelists and screenwriters about the fighters all suited up for battle, only to discover that their adversary refuses to play.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

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

A cohort of playwrights, breathtakingly diverse demographically as well as aesthetically, has been rejuvenating American theater.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Montgomery has a beautiful park that houses the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, which brings nationally acclaimed playwrights and actors to Alabama to perform Shakespeare and modern theatrical productions.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson