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
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An icon amongst icons, Dylan is the musical poet laureate of his time. Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2024 The nation’s poet laureate is Time magazine, its much-mocked style rendered here as verse: on both sides of the iron curtain the world heard with a thrill of east berlin’s rebellion in the rain … As the execution nears, crowds stream into Times Square. Alexander Nazaryan, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2024 The selected poet laureate will be notified in March 2025. Asher Price, Axios, 3 Oct. 2024 America’s poet laureate, the incandescent Ada Limón, was asked to write a poem that would be inscribed on the spacecraft. Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for poet laureate 

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of poet laureate was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near poet laureate

Cite this Entry

“Poet laureate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poet%20laureate. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.

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

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