widower

noun

wid·​ow·​er ˈwi-də-wər 

: a man who has lost his spouse or partner by death and usually has not remarried

Examples of widower in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The movie takes place in Copenhagen, May 1945, as Marie prepares for her summer wedding to an older, respected widower. — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 25 Sep. 2026

The man, a widower, exchanged phone numbers with Johnson and later met her for lunch. — Kelly Werthmann, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026

Sleepless in Seattle follows widower Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks), who relocates to Seattle with his young son Jonah (Ross Malinger). — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Sep. 2026

Braithwaite, a widower of 11 years, lives with his son and daughter. — Michael Collins, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English widewer, alteration of wedow widow, widower, from Old English wuduwa widower; akin to Old English wuduwe widow

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing widower

• grass widower

Kids Definition

widower

noun

wid·​ow·​er ˈwid-ə-wər 

: a man whose spouse has died