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

Next steps: It may feel morbid to plan for life as a widow or widower, but smart advance tax-planning strategies mean facing the “what-ifs.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Field had been considered the sentimental favorite in the highly competitive category for her role as Tova Sullivan, a lonely widow who forms a deep bond with an octopus at the aquarium where she works.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

A debater still affiliated with TPUSA, Gunnell travelled to its headquarters over the summer and met Erika Kirk, the founder's widow who took over as CEO, along with the organisation's spokesman Andrew Kolvet.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

“There is no bigger industry here,” said Nemahunguni, a 37-year-old widow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

Monday night’s camp was on the property of Mrs. Rosie Steele, a seventy-eight-year-old widow.

From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman

In India, emphasizing someone’s status as a widow in a negative way is considered insulting since widows have traditionally been ostracized and seen as carrying bad luck.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

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

In many cases, those women were widows appointed by governors or chosen by voters to take over their deceased husbands’ seats.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

The scandal is especially egregious because widows and widowers are disproportionately among the poorest elders.

From MarketWatch ● May 1, 2026

The temple was filled with chanting widows in white saris.

From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan

In short, the widowed taxpayer often faces a double whammy: Income often falls while tax rates increase.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

For decades, single, divorced and many widowed drivers have paid more for auto insurance in California than those who are married.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

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

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

Mrs Enid Tyson was not widowed but divorced, in unhappy circumstances, and so they could talk to one another, there was an understanding.

From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill

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

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

He kept continually in his hand a polished, oval, white carnelian, the gift of his widowing love, and at times it seemed his only consolation, the only thing left him in this world clearly tangible.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 11, No. 66, April, 1863 by Various