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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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 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 29 Nov. 2024.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on poet laureate

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