widow

[wid-oh]

noun

1. a woman who has lost her spouse by death and has not remarried.

2. Cards.,  an additional hand or part of a hand, as one dealt to the table.

3. Printing.

   1. a short last line of a paragraph, especially one less than half of the full measure or one consisting of only a single word.

   2. the last line of a paragraph when it is carried over to the top of the following page away from the rest of the paragraph.

4. a woman often left alone because her husband devotes his free time to a hobby or sport (used in combination).

verb (used with object)

widowed, widowing 

1. to make (someone) a widow.

   She was widowed by the war.

2. to deprive of anything cherished or needed.

   A surprise attack widowed the army of its supplies.

3. Obsolete.

   1. to endow with a widow's right.

   2. to survive as the widow of.

widow

/ ˈwɪdəʊ /

noun

1. a woman who has survived her husband, esp one who has not remarried

2. informal,  (usually with a modifier) a woman whose husband frequently leaves her alone while he indulges in a sport, etc

   a golf widow

3. printing a short line at the end of a paragraph, esp one that occurs as the top line of a page or column Compare orphan

4. (in some card games) an additional hand or set of cards exposed on the table

verb

1. to cause to become a widow or a widower

2. to deprive of something valued or desirable

Other Word Forms

• widowly adjective
• widowhood noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of widow¹

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English wid(e)we, Old English widuwe, wydewe; cognate with German Witwe, Gothic widuwo, Latin vidua (feminine of viduus “bereaved”), Sanskrit vidhavā “widow”; (verb) Middle English, derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of widow¹

Old English widuwe; related to German Witwe, Latin vidua (feminine of viduus deprived), Sanskrit vidhavā

Idioms and Phrases

see grass widow.

Example Sentences

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, now leads the organization and is amplifying a message especially resonant for young conservative women: Family is central.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Fan delivered what some critics hailed as a breakthrough performance with her portrayal of a widowed farmer and ritual healer in "Mother Bhumi", a far cry from her usual glamorous roles.

Read more on Barron's

In Kyiv, the widow of a Ukrainian soldier told the BBC: "This is not a peace plan, it is a plan to continue the war."

Read more on BBC

Melugin has been reluctant to leave Los Angeles as he is close to his widowed mother Audrey, who lives in Orange County.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She still owns the nursery land, which they lease, and she’s 96 now and a widow since 1988.

Read more on Los Angeles Times