orphan

American  

[awr-fuhn] / ˈɔr fən /

noun

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)

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

• unorphaned
  adjective
• half-orphan
  noun
• orphanhood
  noun

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

The company also noted a slower ramp-up for some rare and orphan drug programs as impacting the product mix and growth forecasts.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

Published in 1978 as the third novel in Butler’s “Patternist” series, “Survivor” follows Alanna, a biracial orphan who is adopted by religious missionaries fleeing a plague-ravaged Earth in search of a new home.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

“The chances of becoming an orphan stock are much higher when you’re listing in your non-home market,” Kerr said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

My own grandmother came here as an orphan when she was 6 or 7 years old.

From Slate • Mar. 20, 2026

He was left an orphan very young and placed in an institution for the deaf.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers