widow

1 of 2

noun

wid·​ow ˈwi-(ˌ)dō 

1

a

: a woman who has lost her spouse or partner by death and usually has not remarried

b

: grass widow sense 2

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

2 of 2

verb

widowed; widowing; widows

transitive verb

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

The house was built for Truus Schröder-Schräder, a recent widow and mother of three children. —JSTOR Daily, 15 Oct. 2025

The widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, Miriam Adelson spent millions on her super PAC Preserve America, which helped Trump win last year’s election. —Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025

Verb

Chernow’s Hamilton ends there; widowed Eliza gets a scant nine pages. —Jane Kamensky, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025

For other tax filing statuses — single, head of household or widowed — the EITC will completely phase out at $62,974 for those with three or more children, $58,629 for two children, $51,593 for one child and $19,540 for no children. —Lorie Konish, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English widewe, from Old English wuduwe; akin to Old High German wituwa widow, Latin vidua, Sanskrit vidhavā, Latin -videre to separate

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing widow

• black widow
• chuck-will's-widow
• football/golf widow
• grass widow
• merry widow
• widow maker
• widow's cruse
• widow's peak
• widow's walk

Rhymes for widow

• kiddo

Kids Definition

widow

1 of 2 noun

wid·​ow ˈwid-ō 

: a woman whose spouse has died

widowhood

-ˌhu̇d

noun

widow

2 of 2 verb

: to cause to become a widow or widower

widowed by war