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
Gwendolyn Brooks was named the poet laureate of Illinois, succeeding Carl Sandburg who died July 22, 1967.
—
Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
Interview 'The Ethics of Being a Poet': An Interview with Jenna Lyn Albert
Katie Davey
The author of Bec & Call on the role of poet laureates, the political power of writing, and capturing a sense of place in her work.
—Max Ufberg, hazlitt.net, 4 Jan. 2025
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
See all Example Sentences for poet laureate 
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Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
Interview 'The Ethics of Being a Poet': An Interview with Jenna Lyn Albert
Katie Davey
The author of Bec & Call on the role of poet laureates, the political power of writing, and capturing a sense of place in her work.
—Max Ufberg, hazlitt.net, 4 Jan. 2025
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
See all Example Sentences for poet laureate
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Cite this Entry
“Poet laureate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poet%20laureate. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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