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• single parent
  single parent

  noun

  a parent or guardian who brings up a child or children alone, without a partner.
• single-parent
  single-parent

  adjective

  of or noting a family in which a parent brings up a child or children alone, without a partner: a single-parent household.

single parent

¹ American  

noun

single parents plural

1. a parent or guardian who brings up a child or children alone, without a partner.

   Being a single parent isn’t easy.

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single-parent ² American  

[sing-guhl-pair-uhnt, ‐-par-uhnt] / ˈsɪŋ gəlˈpɛər ənt, ‐ˈpær ənt /

adjective

1. of or noting a family in which a parent brings up a child or children alone, without a partner: a single-parent household.

   a single-parent family;

   a single-parent household.

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single parent British  

noun

1. Also called (NZ): solo parent. 

   1. a person who has a dependent child or dependent children and who is widowed, divorced, or unmarried

   2. ( as modifier )

      a single-parent family

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• single parents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of single parent¹

First recorded in 1850–60

Origin of single-parent²

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

single parent single-parent

The report sorted American households into seven distinct family structures: intact married, single parent, blended, unmarried biological or adoptive, cohabiting, extended and other.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

“A single parent raising a kid, they have to take time off work, they have to get child care. It just seems like if that’s our system, it isn’t really working for us.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

He has largely been a single parent to Shy’tyra and her siblings, who need some support too, although they’re more self-sufficient.

From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026

I’m a 58-year-old single parent with two children.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 20, 2026

Branwell was raised by a single parent, but I have always had a mother.

From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg

The rate was 56% for families with children, due in part to the high share of single-parent households and families with three or more children that do not earn enough to thrive.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 18, 2026

"This means single-parent families effectively have access to half of the total leave available to two-parent households, and their children accordingly gain half of the benefit of this caring time," it said.

From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2026

In her work as a policy analyst, she is advocating for “more financial support for married, working families in particular alongside the social support systems we have in place for single-parent families already.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025

Although my decision was fueled by single-parent shame, his decision was matter-of-fact.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025

She’s an only child who lives in a single-parent home.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell