orphan

[ awr-fuhn ]

/ ˈɔr fən /

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See synonyms for orphan on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

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

a person or thing that is without protective affiliation, sponsorship, etc.: The committee is an orphan of the previous administration.

Printing.

(especially in word processing) the first line of a paragraph when it appears alone at the bottom of a page.
widow (def. 3b).

adjective

bereft of parents.

of or for orphans: an orphan home.

not authorized, supported, or funded; not part of a system; isolated; abandoned: an orphan research project.

lacking a commercial sponsor, an employer, etc.: orphan workers.

verb (used with object)

to deprive of parents or a parent through death: He was orphaned at the age of four.

Informal. to deprive of commercial sponsorship, an employer, etc.: The recession has orphaned many experienced workers.

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Origin of orphan

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

OTHER WORDS FROM orphan

or·phan·hood, nounhalf-orphan, nounun·or·phaned, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use orphan in a sentence

Astronomers think that orphaned planets formed in solar systems like our own.
Rogue planets wander the galaxy all alone|Christopher Crockett|December 23, 2020|Science News For Students
Missing pieces are a chronic problem — so much so that Sanchez set aside a “lost pieces jar” in the hope of reuniting orphans with their parent puzzles.
Puzzle swap celebrates jigsaw ‘barter culture’ amid pandemic chaos|Justin Wm. Moyer|December 17, 2020|Washington Post
Until then, it’s possible last-minute shoppers might choose — in honor of grandma or that hard-to-buy-for brother-in-law or someone else — to give $25 toward buying formula for an orphan or $50 toward a week’s worth of diapers for a house of orphans.
Need a last-minute gift? How about a camel? A different kind of year has groups hoping shoppers will turn to a different kind of giving.|Theresa Vargas|December 16, 2020|Washington Post
Quinoa is a prime example of an orphan crop that languished in obscurity.
New Veggies for a Warming Planet - Issue 92: Frontiers|Viviane Callier|November 4, 2020|Nautilus

At least 25 orphan crops exist in this family, and there are many other uncultivated wild relatives that have crop potential.
New Veggies for a Warming Planet - Issue 92: Frontiers|Viviane Callier|November 4, 2020|Nautilus
She became a schoolteacher, but, as war erupted, began taking in kids abandoned or orphaned by the conflict.
Death Metal Angola: Heavy Metal in War-Torn Africa|Nina Strochlic|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She was particularly moved to help children who have been orphaned and separated from their families.
A 26-Year-Old Woman Is ISIS’s Last American Hostage|Shane Harris|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A generation of orphaned, high-heeled girls, looking for a daddy as much as a sugar daddy.
Russia’s Gold Digger Academy|Peter Pomerantsev|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ebola has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa—and orphaned thousands more.
Liberia’s Ebola Orphans|Abby Haglage|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Half-orphaned, Eugenie was sent to a larger farm to learn to cook and clean.
The Queen of the French Kitchen|Katie Baker|March 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She saw not the dances of the heedless, but the tears of the motherless and the orphaned.
Mary Wollstonecraft|Elizabeth Robins Pennell
The successful hunter took home with him the last of the Igmu family, the little orphaned kitten.
Red Hunters And the Animal People|Charles A. Eastman
And suddenly the orphaned children found themselves a part of the procession as grandchildren.
Emmy Lou|George Madden Martin
The orphaned children were appalled, and even in the face of the man cried out in protest.
Emmy Lou|George Madden Martin
Far away in a remote spot an orphaned family of ten boys lived with their uncle.
The Myths of the North American Indians|Lewis Spence

British Dictionary definitions for orphan

orphan

/ (ˈɔːfən) /

noun

a child, one or (more commonly) both of whose parents are dead
(as modifier)an orphan child

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

verb

(tr) to deprive of one or both parents

Word Origin for orphan

C15: from Late Latin orphanus, from Greek orphanos; compare Latin orbus bereaved

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

orphan

Origin of orphan

OTHER WORDS FROM orphan

Words related to orphan

How to use orphan in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for orphan

Word Origin for orphan