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:
"I actually take my songwriting more serious than anything else I do, so I would say I am a songwriter first."
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Singer and songwriter Brandi Carlile called Parton “an angel on my shoulder and also the devil on my other shoulder.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
"It was a worldwide thing. It was in a movie; it was No. 1. I thought, 'Wow. I wrote that little song'... That's when I felt my worth as a songwriter."
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Ms. Howard, the band’s creative engine, has never been a prolific songwriter, and according to a recent interview in the New York Times, she had few completed songs on hand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 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
One of the most prolific songwriters who ever lived, she wrote more than 3,000 songs—more than 1,000 of which were recorded and released.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Who were the songwriters that taught you how to create an image?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
"So overlooked but so accomplished as musicians and songwriters, and with an exceptional frontman in Marti Pellow," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Composers and songwriters would receive payments irregularly at best; performers and venues had to contend with multiple agencies seeking money.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 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.
