widow
noun
wid·ow
| \ Ëwi-(Ë)dĆ
\
\
Definition of widow
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: a woman who has lost her spouse or partner by death and usually has not remarried
c
: a woman whose spouse or partner leaves her alone or ignores her frequently or for long periods to engage in a usually specified activity
a golf widow a video game widow
2
: an extra hand or part of a hand of cards dealt face down and usually placed at the disposal of the highest bidder
3
: a single usually short last line (as of a paragraph) separated from its related text and appearing at the top of a printed page or column
widow
verb
widowed;
widowing;
widows
Definition of widow (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to cause to become a widow or widower
2
obsolete
: to survive as the widow of
3
: to deprive of something greatly valued or needed
Examples of widow in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
She was divorced in 1991 before remarrying in 1997, then became a widow in 2010. — New York Times, "Brought Together by Fate, and Three Finicky Cats," 6 Sep. 2019 Each classroom has an internal wing wall thatâs supposed to block a shooterâs line of sight into the classroom from a hallway widow. — Blair Kamin, chicagotribune.com, "Column: A small town in the heartland redesigned its school to prevent shootings. But architecture canât ensure kidsâ safety.," 6 Sep. 2019 Streep plays a widow who investigates an insurance fraud, while Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas play two Panama City lawyers. — Sandra Gonzalez And Whitney Friedlander, CNN, "12 movies you're going to hear a lot about during film festival season," 29 Aug. 2019 Streep's got the showiest role as a widow who helps upend the scheme after she's swindled out of millions. — Isaac Feldberg, Fortune, "As Venice Jump-Starts Festival Season, âJokerâ and the âLaundromatâ Are Among the Weekâs Buzziest Trailers," 28 Aug. 2019 The Laundromat as a widow who uncovers insurance fraud committed by law partners JĂŒrgen Mossack (Gary Oldman) and RamĂłn Fonseca (Antonio Banderas). — Alexia Fernandez, PEOPLE.com, "Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman Battle for Millions in the New Trailer for The Laundromat," 28 Aug. 2019 For example, Deborahâs great-grandmother became a widow in the early 1900s. — Marni Jameson, The Mercury News, "7 insights on downsizing through generations," 27 Aug. 2019 Wisdom's cousin told her his grandmother, a widow named Cristilla Hubbard, moved her family to the area in 1931. — London Gibson, Indianapolis Star, "Be your own historian: How this Indianapolis woman uncovered her neighborhood's stories," 26 Aug. 2019 Lauren, a widow, alienates her friends and her daughter to advance her genius son. — Sandra Dallas, The Denver Post, "Regional books: âThis Boyâs War,â âThe Dead Girl in 2Aâ and more," 18 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
According to the 2016 census, 24 percent of people 65 and older are widowed, which is no insignificant number. — Megan Spurrell, CondĂ© Nast Traveler, "Why Travel Can Be a Turning Point After Losing a Partner," 20 Aug. 2019 There Juana was briefly reunited with her sister, Catherine, who by then had been widowed by Prince Arthur, though not yet married to Henry VIII. — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, "What Was Catherine of Aragon's Sister, Juana la Loca, Really Like?," 10 June 2019 Barbara married George Cornelius in 2000 and was widowed in 2005. — sun-sentinel.com, "Deaths in South Florida: 7/14," 14 July 2019 Acela began selling mattresses downtown in 1997, twenty-five years old and newly widowed, with an infant and a two-year-old. — Rowan Moore Gerety, Harper's magazine, "Downstream," 10 June 2019 Michael Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy, was one of seven children left largely unsupervised by their father, who had been widowed after their mother had died a few years earlier from cancer. — Rick Rojas And Kristin Hussey, New York Times, "Four Decades After Martha Moxleyâs Murder, Her Mother Says âItâs Enoughâ," 5 May 2018 In a fictional Pakistani town, Nargis, a prominent architect, is suddenly widowed after her husband is killed in an attack. — Joumana Khatib, New York Times, "New in Paperback: âPriestdaddy,â âThe Golden Legendâ," 4 May 2018 In a report released on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, researchers found that melanoma patients who are married tend to be diagnosed at an earlier more treatable stage than patients who are unmarried, widowed or divorced. — Washington Post, "Spouses can boost early detection for melanoma patients," 18 Apr. 2018 Sorry for Your Loss stars a magnificent Elizabeth Olsen as Leigh, a writer who was recently widowed and is trying to piece her life back together. — Pilot Viruet, The Verge, "The 12 best overlooked TV shows of 2018," 14 Dec. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'widow.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for widow
widow
noun
English Language Learners Definition of widow
: a woman whose husband has died
informal
: a woman whose husband often leaves her alone while he plays sports or is involved in other activities
See the full definition for widow in the English Language Learners Dictionary
widow
noun
wid·ow
| \ Ëwi-dĆ
\
\
Kids Definition of widow
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a woman whose husband is dead
widow
verb
widowed;
widowing
Kids Definition of widow (Entry 2 of 2)
: to make a widow or widower of
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