poet laureate

noun

plural poets laureate or poet laureates

1

: a poet honored for achievement

2

a

: a poet appointed for life by an English sovereign as a member of the royal household and formerly expected to compose poems for court and national occasions

b

: a poet appointed annually by the U.S. Library of Congress as a consultant and typically involved in the promotion of poetry

3

: one regarded by a country or region as its most eminent or representative poet

Examples of poet laureate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The backstory: The Austin poet laureate program was established through the efforts of local poet KB Brookins. —Asher Price, Axios, 3 Oct. 2024

During their one-to-four-year tenure, each poet laureate in recent history has developed a project to bring the literary form to those who might not otherwise encounter it. —Abigail Barronian, Outside Online, 30 July 2024

Sharpen your pencils and whip out those rhymes — Austin is seeking a poet laureate. —Asher Price, Axios, 3 Oct. 2024

Previous winners of the Cave Canem Prize include Natasha Trethewey and Tracy K. Smith, who served as poet laureates of the United States in 2012-2014 and 2017-2019, respectively. —Elizabeth Lund, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Video

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Kids Definition

poet laureate

noun

plural poets laureate or poet laureates

1

: a poet appointed by an English ruler as a member of the royal household and formerly expected to write poems for court and national occasions

2

: a poet regarded by a country or region as its most outstanding