1
a
: 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
widowed; widowing; widows
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
Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
Jobs, the widow of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, in 2023 spearheaded the creation of the nonprofit BMA-Institute to purchase the SFAI and the landmarked 1931 Diego Rivera mural contained within its two-acre campus after the bankrupted art school closed following a 151-year run.
—News Desk, Artforum, 5 June 2025
Peter Debruge, Variety, 6 June 2025
Opponents say the law erodes medical accountability and unfairly affects unmarried adults without young children and seniors who are single or widowed and whose children are past their mid-twenties.
—Chloe Mayer, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for widow
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Noun
Lira and Girardi negotiated payouts totaling $7.5 million for a group of widows and orphans in 2020, but the clients, who lived in Indonesia, did not receive their full settlements.
—Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
Jobs, the widow of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, in 2023 spearheaded the creation of the nonprofit BMA-Institute to purchase the SFAI and the landmarked 1931 Diego Rivera mural contained within its two-acre campus after the bankrupted art school closed following a 151-year run.
—News Desk, Artforum, 5 June 2025
Verb
As recently widowed Irene Chao, Liu trades her signature strut for a self-effacing shuffle, using makeup not to accentuate her beauty but to downplay it.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 6 June 2025
Opponents say the law erodes medical accountability and unfairly affects unmarried adults without young children and seniors who are single or widowed and whose children are past their mid-twenties.
—Chloe Mayer, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for widow
Cite this Entry
“Widow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/widow. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
widow
2 of 2 verb
: to cause to become a widow or widower
widowed by war
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