songwriter
Americannoun
-
songwriters
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of songwriter
Explanation
A musician who composes tunes and writes lyrics is a songwriter. Many famous musical performers, from Elvis Presley to Rihanna, have relied on songwriters to write their biggest hits. While composers write music and lyricists focus on just the words, songwriters do both. If you have a decent singing voice, play the guitar, and love coming up with your own lyrics and melodies, you should think about being a singer-songwriter. Or team up with another musician and write songs together, the way John Lennon and Paul McCartney did, sharing credit as songwriters for many of the Beatles' most famous songs.
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.
See Examples For:
And that’s when the idea for “Pinball Wizard” came to the songwriter, who used to play pinball at the local arcade with Cohn and The Who’s producer Kit Lambert.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
The singer and songwriter needed inspiration after winning best new artist at the Grammy Awards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
That chosen band was the Strokes: Julian Casablancas, lead singer and songwriter; Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., guitars; Nikolai Fraiture, bass; and Fabrizio Moretti, drums.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
US rapper and songwriter Will.i.am, who has also appeared as a coach on The Voice alongside Sir Tom, collaborated on a Change.org Instagram post on 15 September which shared Howlett's petition.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
I’m thinking it can’t hurt to share them, even if there’s no chance I’ll ever get to be a songwriter.
From "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes
It was as if the two songwriters were turning inward in reaction to putting on the biggest stadium tour in history to that point.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
In the tradition of songwriters like Matthew Sweet, Neil Finn and Andy Partridge of XTC, Nate Amos of This Is Lorelei is a master of musical structure who writes with mathematical precision.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
He said the multiple award-winning artist had "opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians, and dreamers from every walk of life."
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Who were the songwriters that taught you how to create an image?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
But the growing commercial confidence of Broadway and Hollywood musicals and of their songwriters blossomed at a time when classical music was struggling to find a sense of purpose beyond mere experimentation.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
