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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

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Etymology

Origin of single parent¹

First recorded in 1850–60

Origin of single-parent²

First recorded in 1965–70

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

single parent single-parent

He first watched the show growing up alongside his mother Clare, a single parent who raised him and his two younger brothers.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

A single parent working hourly shifts doesn’t have that option, and that’s exactly why we have to talk about this.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

The housing and local government minister brought up four children as a single parent after her husband, Dafydd, died from cancer in 1999.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

It doesn’t matter if one’s ancestorial roots are in slavery, religious persecution, Appalachian poverty, a single parent family or New York projects.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Their daughter, Tanya, was five years old, and Marina was only twenty-three when she became a single parent.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Children raised in two-parent families in which one parent is employed full time already have a host of advantages, while children raised in low-income single-parent households are more likely to face significant challenges.

From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2026

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

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

"It was mainly a single-parent household," says Buckle.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2025

Three-quarters of the children come from single-parent homes.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

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