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
USA TODAY, 26 Apr. 2024
Advertisement In the film Kidman plays a widow still grieving the untimely death of her husband a decade ago when a 10-year-old boy arrives at her apartment and announces himself as the reincarnation of her late spouse.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2024
Graham’s widow, Adele Graham, came to the old Capitol’s second floor rotunda by way of elevator and, after her own tribute, sat in a chair next to her husband’s casket for the entire ceremony, which ended past 1:30 p.m., going more than half an hour long.
—Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 26 Apr. 2024
The spinoff series centered on Danny’s eldest daughter, D.J. (Bure), a 30-something widow bringing up three kids of her own with the help of her sister Stephanie (Sweetin) and childhood BFF Kimmy Gibbler (Barber).
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 19 Apr. 2024
Johnston wondered about that and asked Pirsig’s widow, Wendy, about the omission.
—Alice George, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024
Unearthed by Hunter’s widow, Maureen, Silver Snarling Trumpet chronicles the origin of the Grateful Dead in the San Francisco Bay Area.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
Patrick Swayze's widow is reflecting on finding love again after his 2009 death from pancreatic cancer at 57.
—Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
However, after Ehud's death in 2012, his widow and son terminated the company's copyright to the work in 2018.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 8 Apr. 2024
USA TODAY, 26 Apr. 2024
Carter was twice widowed and is survived by his wife Etaferhu Zenebe-DeCoste, and his two children Miguel and Melinda.
—Lexi Carson, Variety, 23 Apr. 2024
She was also widowed years earlier and struggles to bring herself to visit her sister, who is happily starting a family of her own.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 3 Jan. 2024
The Citizens’ Councils targeted poor, Black women who depended on some form of welfare, many of whom were single or widowed with children.
—TIME, 21 Mar. 2024
At my age, a large portion of my girlfriends are either divorced or widowed.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 2 Mar. 2024
Social Security benefits are the major source of income for people over 65 and are a significant source of income for disabled and widowed people under 65.
—The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2024
My aunt, who was recently widowed, found comfort in living among her family.
—Tanikia Carpenter, Parents, 19 Nov. 2023
But now, the widowed Sophie needs West to feign an engagement with her in order to push her younger (also widowed) sister Alexandra into her own connubial bliss.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024
Noun
Automatic bill payments, a convenience of the online era, can wreak havoc on a widow, especially when the money is being drawn from an account that belonged to the deceased partner and is losing value.
—USA TODAY, 26 Apr. 2024
Advertisement In the film Kidman plays a widow still grieving the untimely death of her husband a decade ago when a 10-year-old boy arrives at her apartment and announces himself as the reincarnation of her late spouse.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2024
Graham’s widow, Adele Graham, came to the old Capitol’s second floor rotunda by way of elevator and, after her own tribute, sat in a chair next to her husband’s casket for the entire ceremony, which ended past 1:30 p.m., going more than half an hour long.
—Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 26 Apr. 2024
The spinoff series centered on Danny’s eldest daughter, D.J. (Bure), a 30-something widow bringing up three kids of her own with the help of her sister Stephanie (Sweetin) and childhood BFF Kimmy Gibbler (Barber).
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 19 Apr. 2024
Johnston wondered about that and asked Pirsig’s widow, Wendy, about the omission.
—Alice George, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024
Unearthed by Hunter’s widow, Maureen, Silver Snarling Trumpet chronicles the origin of the Grateful Dead in the San Francisco Bay Area.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
Patrick Swayze's widow is reflecting on finding love again after his 2009 death from pancreatic cancer at 57.
—Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
However, after Ehud's death in 2012, his widow and son terminated the company's copyright to the work in 2018.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 8 Apr. 2024
Verb
Moulton and her colleagues set out to study the financial setbacks that followed the deaths of partners over age 50 in the pandemic, which widowed hundreds of thousands of older Americans.
—USA TODAY, 26 Apr. 2024
Carter was twice widowed and is survived by his wife Etaferhu Zenebe-DeCoste, and his two children Miguel and Melinda.
—Lexi Carson, Variety, 23 Apr. 2024
She was also widowed years earlier and struggles to bring herself to visit her sister, who is happily starting a family of her own.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 3 Jan. 2024
The Citizens’ Councils targeted poor, Black women who depended on some form of welfare, many of whom were single or widowed with children.
—TIME, 21 Mar. 2024
At my age, a large portion of my girlfriends are either divorced or widowed.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 2 Mar. 2024
Social Security benefits are the major source of income for people over 65 and are a significant source of income for disabled and widowed people under 65.
—The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2024
My aunt, who was recently widowed, found comfort in living among her family.
—Tanikia Carpenter, Parents, 19 Nov. 2023
But now, the widowed Sophie needs West to feign an engagement with her in order to push her younger (also widowed) sister Alexandra into her own connubial bliss.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'widow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Widow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/widow. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
widow
2 of 2 verb
: to cause to become a widow or widower
widowed by war
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