widow
[ wid-oh ]
/ ˈwɪd oʊ /
noun
a woman who has lost her spouse by death and has not remarried.
Cards. an additional hand or part of a hand, as one dealt to the table.
Printing.
- a short last line of a paragraph, especially one less than half of the full measure or one consisting of only a single word.
- 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.Compare orphan (def. 4).
a woman often left alone because her husband devotes his free time to a hobby or sport (used in combination).Compare golf widow.
verb (used with object), wid·owed, wid·ow·ing.
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seclusion
Origin of widow
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; (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun
OTHER WORDS FROM widow
wid·ow·ly, adjectiveun·wid·owed, adjectiveWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH widow
widow , widowerDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for widow
British Dictionary definitions for widow
widow
/ (ˈwɪdəʊ) /
noun
a woman who has survived her husband, esp one who has not remarried
(usually with a modifier) informal a woman whose husband frequently leaves her alone while he indulges in a sport, etca golf widow
printing a short line at the end of a paragraph, esp one that occurs as the top line of a page or columnCompare orphan (def. 3)
(in some card games) an additional hand or set of cards exposed on the table
verb (tr; usually passive)
to cause to become a widow or a widower
to deprive of something valued or desirable
Derived forms of widow
widowhood, nounWord Origin for widow
Old English widuwe; related to German Witwe, Latin vidua (feminine of viduus deprived), Sanskrit vidhavā
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Idioms and Phrases with widow
widow
see grass widow.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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