Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

sonnets

  • plural
    of sonnet.
    sonnet
    noun
    a poem, properly expressive of a single, complete thought, idea, or sentiment, of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to one of certain definite schemes, being in the strict or Italian form divided into a major group of 8 lines (the octave) followed by a minor group of 6 lines (the sestet), and in a common English form into 3 quatrains followed by a couplet.
  • present tense form
    of sonnet (3rd person singular).
    sonnet
    noun
    a poem, properly expressive of a single, complete thought, idea, or sentiment, of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to one of certain definite schemes, being in the strict or Italian form divided into a major group of 8 lines (the octave) followed by a minor group of 6 lines (the sestet), and in a common English form into 3 quatrains followed by a couplet.

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:

While kids in regular public schools put in their numbing hours, students in spreading networks of classical charters get meaty reading assignments—myths, fairy tales, great books—while also memorizing sonnets and elements of America’s founding documents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026

Stratford-upon-Avon born playwright Shakespeare dedicated Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece to Wriothesley, who some think was the "fair youth" to whom many of Shakespeare's sonnets are addressed.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2025

No one is writing social media sonnets about eating a yellow squash over the kitchen sink while wearing their ex’s oversized T-shirt, still scented with a perfume they stopped wearing last fall.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2025

He consumed everything from “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill to Shakespearean sonnets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2025

She took us from the sonnets of Browning to the sonnets of Shakespeare, which I found difficult.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers