songwriter
Americannoun
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:
The songwriter also spoke about the collaborative writing process, saying many songs written with other artists never reach the public.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
If Ms. Orton sang like her 19-year-old self, had the songs been tight constructions manicured by a hired-gun songwriter, had her insights felt unearned, such a declaration could have come across as trite.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
"I found him remarkably down-to-earth, friendly and very interesting as a songwriter," Taylor says.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Though Village People singer and songwriter Victor Willis has denied the queer interpretation of the song many times over, one of the people who hasn’t internalized that historical correction is Trump himself.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Roberta Flack, the legendary singer and songwriter, agreed to perform.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Why are songwriters so eager to say, “I channeled this — it just came through me”? Because it’s the truth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
I’m sure you saw the New York Times’ list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, inescapable in the 1990s, and American record producer Walter Afanasieff were also among the total of nine songwriters joining the Hall of Fame this year.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
"They wanted to champion upcoming songwriters and artists," she said.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
Talent contests and megalomaniac record producers have always paired ingenue wannabes with experienced songwriters, for instance, cashing in quickly on success before the public's appetite for novelty fades.
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.
