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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Joy Harjo Quick Center for the Arts, 1073 N. Benson Road, Fairfield Joy Harjo, the current U.S. poet laureate, gives a reading of her work, takes part in a discussion and receives the 2025 Denise Levertov Award from Image Journal. Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 1 Mar. 2025 It was written by the national youth poet laureate, Stephanie Pacheco, who attends Borough of Manhattan Community College, one of CUNY’s 25 schools. James Barron, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025 Open mics hosted by Pomona’s poet laureate, maybe. Anthony Solorzano, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2025 In 2023 Gibson was named Colorado’s poet laureate. Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 3 Feb. 2025 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Poet laureate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poet%20laureate. Accessed 21 Apr. 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

More from Merriam-Webster on poet laureate

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!