English Reference
noun

composer

n.
US /kəmˈpoʊzɝ/ UK /kəmpˈəʊzɐ/ com·pos·er UK spelling composers

  1. 01 B1 Intermediate Music

    a person who writes music, especially as a professional job.

    a person who creates musical compositions, often involving the arrangement of melodies and harmonies for instruments or voices.

    Simple

    The film composer spent months writing the perfect theme for the main character.

    In context

    While many contemporary composers experiment with electronic sounds, others remain dedicated to the traditional orchestral forms of the nineteenth century.

    Usage

    Often used with 'classical', 'film', or 'contemporary' to specify the genre of music written.

  2. 02 C2 Proficiency FormalArchaic

    someone who creates or puts together a piece of writing or art.

    a person who assembles or constructs a literary or artistic work; an author.

    Simple

    The composer of this long poem lived hundreds of years ago.

    In context

    In the formal preface, the composer of the text acknowledges the various sources that informed his historical analysis.

    Teacher's tip

    In modern English, this word almost exclusively refers to music. Using it for a writer of books or poems is very rare and sounds old-fashioned.

The Song of Hiawatha, Black British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor ’s turn-of-the-century cantata trilogy, packed the Albert Hall for weeks on end between the wars, but it really shouldn’t work today .

The Guardian· 20 Aug 2026

One hundred and fifty years after the composer launched the festival with the premiere of his epic Ring cycle, tickets for this summer’s edition sold out within 90 minutes.

The Guardian· 10 Aug 2026

From compose + -er.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated