orphan

American  

[awr-fuhn] / ˈɔr fən /

noun

• orphans
  plural

1. a child who has lost both parents through death, or, less commonly, one parent.

2. a young animal that has been deserted by or has lost its mother.

3. a person or thing that is without protective affiliation, sponsorship, etc..

   The committee is an orphan of the previous administration.

4. Printing.

   1. (especially in word processing) the first line of a paragraph when it appears alone at the bottom of a page.

   2. widow.

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adjective

1. bereft of parents.

2. of or for orphans.

   an orphan home.

3. not authorized, supported, or funded; not part of a system; isolated; abandoned.

   an orphan research project.

4. lacking a commercial sponsor, an employer, etc..

   orphan workers.

verb (used with object)

• orphans,
  present (3rd person singular)
• orphaned,
  past participle,  past
• orphaning
  present participle

1. to deprive of parents or a parent through death.

   He was orphaned at the age of four.

2. Informal. to deprive of commercial sponsorship, an employer, etc..

   The recession has orphaned many experienced workers.

orphan British  

/ ˈɔːfən /

noun

1. 1. a child, one or (more commonly) both of whose parents are dead

   2. ( as modifier )

      an orphan child

2. printing the first line of a paragraph separated from the rest of the paragraph by occurring at the foot of a page

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verb

1. (tr) to deprive of one or both parents

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• half-orphan
  noun
• orphanhood
  noun
• unorphaned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• orphans
  plural

Participles

• orphaning
  present
• orphaned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• orphan
  simple
• orphans
  simple
• have orphaned
  perfect
• has orphaned
  perfect
• am orphaning
  progressive
• are orphaning
  progressive
• is orphaning
  progressive
• have been orphaning
  perfect progressive
• has been orphaning
  perfect progressive

Past

• orphaned
  simple
• had orphaned
  perfect
• was orphaning
  progressive
• were orphaning
  progressive
• had been orphaning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will orphan
  simple
• will have orphaned
  perfect
• will be orphaning
  progressive
• will have been orphaning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of orphan

1425–75; late Middle English (noun) < Late Latin orphanus destitute, without parents < Greek orphanós bereaved; akin to Latin orbus bereaved

Explanation

An orphan is someone who has lost both parents. Usually, we think of sad little children when we think of orphans, but anyone whose parents have both died is an orphan. A home for orphans is no substitute for a house with loving parents, even if they're adopted. Bambi, Annie, and Oliver Twist are probably the most famous orphans. Each lost their parents in different ways, but all of them had their lives similarly changed—they felt adrift without a parent to guide them. Orphans often spend lots of time looking for friends or surrogates to fill the gap left by their deceased parents.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

orphan orphans orphaned orphaning

A woman who grew up as an orphan and promised to "help any child I could" has spent 30 years opening her picturesque garden to visitors to raise money for a children's charity.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Astronomers describe it as an apparent "orphan" because it sits unusually far from the galactic core, where supermassive black holes are normally found.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

Hottle’s breakout role was in the 2021 MonsterVerse crossover “Godzilla vs. Kong,” which marked her big-screen debut as the young orphan Jia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

The other, a Flea Bottom orphan taken in by a drunken hedge knight, spent most of his life sleeping on the hard ground.

From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026

The eldest Baudelaire orphan was about to grab her sister’s cage and begin her descent when she saw something that made her stop.

From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket

But mainstream culture’s best-known Green Lanterns aren’t orphans or troubled.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Between 1970 and 1989, 7,220 South Korean children were adopted in Denmark, almost all of whom were told they were street orphans.

From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026

A group of orphans was repatriated in 2019, and another 17 women and children were brought back in 2022.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

Being raised by another sea otter rather than a human gives Sunny — like other orphans — the best chance of learning essential skills, he added.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026

The orphans weren’t even allowed near this place, as signs all around the hallway insisted in red, menacing letters.

From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older

The BBC understands Ahmadzai, who left Afghanistan after being orphaned aged 15, lives in Greece with his American wife and their child.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

Incumbency can also be a drag on a candidate if orphaned voters dislike their track record, even if their opponent is even further from those voters politically.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

Founded in 1977, the Sheldrick Wildlife is renowned for its care of orphaned elephants and rhinos, rescuing and reintegrating them into the wild.

From BBC ● May 6, 2026

That certainly has been the case with orphaned oil wells, which also were built with promises of safety.

From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2026

Nelly and Wash were the orphaned children of Martha’s son Jacky Custis, who died of illness at Yorktown in 1781.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Within these confines, COVID-19 advanced without mercy: orphaning children, killing breadwinners and shattering families.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2022

“The biggest fear around spring bear season is the orphaning of cubs, that’s a very emotional argument. Even as a hunter, my worse fear would be to take a sow. Especially in a spring season.”

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 14, 2021

In Texas, Lydia Rodriguez, 42, died this month of covid-19, two weeks after her husband Lawrence’s death from the same disease, orphaning their four children.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 28, 2021

Her husband succumbed to the virus as well, orphaning their newborn.

From Fox News ● Aug. 10, 2020

Since the orphaning and especially since the blindness of Louise, Henriette cared for her with a love overwhelming as that of a mother for her helpless baby.

From Orphans of the Storm by Henry MacMahon