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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

The U.S. government is SpaceX’s largest single client, which the 24-year-old company identified as “Customer A” in securities filings ahead of its planned initial public offering.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

Computer rooms here -- which are strictly off limits to outsiders -- are filled with racks of servers for a single client or broken into separate "cages" serving smaller clients.

From Barron's • Dec. 3, 2025

For example, Galaxy Digital recently disclosed moving $9 billion in bitcoin for a single client, one of the original holders methodically exiting.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 17, 2025

“We lost every single client at the studio because our clients lost their homes,” Jackson said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2025

Also, as it happened, Bibi-Ri himself was my single client on this particular afternoon of which I speak.

From Where the Pavement Ends by Russell, John