noun
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an institution for orphans and abandoned children
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the state of being an orphan
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of orphanage
Explanation
An orphanage is a place where children without parents are cared for and housed. If a child has no parents — because the parents died or lost custody — the child is considered an orphan. Orphans are parentless. An orphanage is an institution that takes care of orphans. An orphanage will care for tiny babies and also older children without parents. Orphanages care for children until they can be placed in homes and adopted.
Vocabulary lists containing orphanage
The Shakespeare Stealer
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One for the Murphys
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Tasting the Sky
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“But it was very different. I had the orphanage, I had the legend of the fetuses and a ghost; and I had the devil live in the monastery.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
It says the relocated and expanded orphanage will improve animal welfare and veterinary training, as well as allow for a better visitor experience.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
Instead of being cared for in the orphanage, the two children were adopted together in Denmark, like tens of thousands of others sent overseas in a state-sanctioned practice that lasted decades.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
Kenneth, who was put in an orphanage, has remained an orphan ever since.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
"He isn't a direct uncle—they said he's your father's cousin, not your father's brother—but I'm so glad they found him. I really didn't want you ending up in an orphanage."
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
Not much later, I would consider the role of language in disguising accountability during an investigation into mistreatment of children in Russian orphanages.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Meena and Minal were adopted from different orphanages by two different Dutch couples.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
Russia insists it has moved some Ukrainian children from their homes or orphanages to protect them from hostilities.
From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026
It has also been found in wild elephant herds and in some sanctuaries and elephant orphanages.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025
His wife, Galway Jane, followed him, and four of their six children had to be put into orphanages.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
