widow

American  

[wid-oh] / ˈwɪd oʊ /

noun

• widows
  plural

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).

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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 British  

/ 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

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verb

1. to cause to become a widow or a widower

2. to deprive of something valued or desirable

widow Idioms  

1. see grass widow.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• widowhood
  noun
• widowly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• widows
  plural

Etymology

Origin of widow

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

Explanation

A widow is a woman whose husband has died. If your uncle dies, your aunt will become a widow. If a person's spouse dies, that person is referred to as either a widow or — in the case of a man whose wife dies — a widower. In most cases, people stop using the word widow if the woman marries again. Back in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it was common to use widow as a prefix to a woman's name, instead of "Mrs." The Indo-European root word of widow means "be empty."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

widow widows widowed widowing

The loss of the assets is a remarkable twist for the heirs of Oswaldo Cisneros, who died in 2020 and whose businesses are now overseen by his widow and children.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

The London retailer wants the billionaire’s estate to pay for settlements and seeks to remove his widow as executor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

A jury in Chicago in the United States awarded the sum to Michael 'Mick' Ryan's family after his widow Naoise Connolly Ryan brought a civil suit against the aircraft manufacturer.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

PC Harper's widow, Lissie Harper, has been among a growing number calling for Cole and Bowers to be denied early release.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

More than forty rescue missions were sent from England, at least ten of them financed by Lady Franklin, the leader’s widow.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

The annual event was initiated in 2012 by the then-governor when 100 couples - primarily widows and divorcees - wed at the palace.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

Life can get complicated, and widows and widowers can find love again.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

Yet many of these widows, daughters, and other female successors were also savvy political operators, leaving behind genuine legislative legacies or winning office in their own right.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

Spouses and widows of veterans got 10 points.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Meanwhile, the lot of widows and homeless children is very hard, and it is to their defence, not God’s, that the self-righteous should rush.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Like the Brontës, the Draydens are the eccentric daughters of a widowed curate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Mercury, a large Los Angeles-based insurer, charged the highest differential, though it offered lower rates to widowed motorists with 34 or more years of driving experience.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

After her widowed mother saw a financial adviser, Sarah decided to seek advice.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

Most were disabled or chronically ill; unemployed or retired; widowed; or living alone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

He glanced at the dead face one more time, and then with widowed sedateness he opened the door that led out into the hospital corridor.

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

In 2015 she became a symbol of heartbreaking grief when Goldberg died while working out on vacation, widowing her with two children as she continued to help run one of the world’s best-known companies.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 1, 2022

Compared with other singletons, people who were single as a result of divorce or widowing had a three times and six times greater risk, respectively.

From Time Magazine Archive

Sooba was gratified by the performance of the widowing ceremonies; he felt to a certain degree revenged upon his unfortunate nephew.

From The Outcaste by F. E. Penny

The days that followed the widowing rites passed strangely for Dorama.

From The Outcaste by F. E. Penny

And now he learnt that not only had she thwarted his schemes against Monmouth, but had deprived him of the ardently sought felicity of widowing her.

From Mistress Wilding by Rafael Sabatini