Vocabulary     

What does Widow mean?

Definitions for Widow
ˈwɪd oʊwid·ow

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Widow.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. widow, widow womanverb

    a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried

  2. widowverb

    cause to be without a spouse

    "The war widowed many women in the former Yugoslavia"

Wiktionary

  1. widownoun

    A woman whose husband has died (and has not re-married); feminine of widower.

  2. widownoun

    A woman whose husband is often away pursuing a sport, etc.

  3. widownoun

    A single line of type that ends a paragraph, carried over to the next page or column.

  4. widownoun

    type of venomous spider, of the genus Latrodectus

  5. widowverb

    To make a widow (or widower) of someone; to cause the death of one's spouse.

  6. Etymology: From widewe, from widuwōn.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. WIDOWnoun

    A woman whose husband is dead.

    Etymology: widwa , Sax. weduwe, Dutch; weddw, Welsh; vidua, Latin.

    To take the widow,
    Exasperates, makes mad her sister Gonerill. William Shakespeare.

    Catharine no more
    Shall be call’d queen; but princess dowager,
    And widow to prince Arthur. William Shakespeare, Hen. VIII.

    Our fatherless distress was left unmoan’d,
    Your widow-dolours likewise be unwept. William Shakespeare, Richard III.

    And will she yet debase her eyes on me,
    That cropt the golden prime of this sweet prince,
    And made her widow to a woeful bed. William Shakespeare.

    The barren they more miserable make,
    And from the widow all her comfort take. George Sandys.

    He warns the widow, and her houshold gods
    To seek a refuge in remote abodes. Dryden.

    Who has the paternal power whilst the widow-queen is with child. John Locke.

  2. To Widowverb

    Etymology: from widow.

    In this city he
    Hath widow’d and unchilded many a one,
    Which to this hour bewail the injury. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

    Poor ropes you are beguil’d;
    Both you and I; for Romeo is exil’d:
    He made you for a high way to my bed,
    But I, a maid, die maiden widowed. William Shakespeare.

    Thy little care to mend my widow’d nights,
    Has forc’d me to recourse of marriage rites,
    To fill an empty side. Dryden.

    For his possessions,
    Although by confiscation they are ours,
    We do instate and widow you withal,
    To buy you a better husband. William Shakespeare.

    The widow’d isle in mourning
    Dries up her tears. Dryden.

    For him you waste in tears your widow’d hours. Dryden.

    Inclement weather and frosty blasts deface
    The blithsome year, trees of their shrivel’d fruits
    Are widow’d, dreary storms o’er all prevail. Philips.

Wikipedia

  1. Widow

    A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died.

ChatGPT

  1. widow

    A widow is a woman whose spouse has died and who has not remarried.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Widownoun

    a woman who has lost her husband by death, and has not married again; one living bereaved of a husband

  2. Widowadjective

    widowed

  3. Widowverb

    to reduce to the condition of a widow; to bereave of a husband; -- rarely used except in the past participle

  4. Widowverb

    to deprive of one who is loved; to strip of anything beloved or highly esteemed; to make desolate or bare; to bereave

  5. Widowverb

    to endow with a widow's right

  6. Widowverb

    to become, or survive as, the widow of

  7. Etymology: [OE. widewe, widwe, AS. weoduwe, widuwe, wuduwe; akin to OFries. widwe, OS. widowa, D. weduwe, G. wittwe, witwe, OHG. wituwa, witawa, Goth. widuw, Russ. udova, OIr. fedb, W. gweddw, L. vidua, Skr. vidhav; and probably to Skr. vidh to be empty, to lack; cf. Gr. "hi`qeos a bachelor. 248. Cf. Vidual.]

Wikidata

  1. Widow

    A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood. This term can be used for either sex, at least according to some dictionaries, but the word widowerhood is also listed in some dictionaries. Occasionally, the word viduity is used. The adjective form for either sex is widowed. The treatment of widows around the world varies, but unequal benefits and treatment generally received by widows versus widowers globally has spurred an interest in the issue by human rights activists.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Widow

    wid′ō, n. a woman who has lost her husband by death.—v.t. to bereave of a husband: to strip of anything valued: (Shak.) to endow with a widow's right: to be widow to.—ns. Wid′ow-bench, a widow's share of her husband's estate besides her jointure; Wid′ow-bewitched′, a grass-widow; Wid′ow-bird, a corruption of Whydah-bird; Wid′ower, a man whose wife is dead; Wid′owerhood; Wid′owhood, state of being a widow, or (rarely) of being a widower: (Shak.) a widow's right; Wid′ow-hun′ter, one who seeks to marry a widow for her money; Wid′ow-mā′ker, one who bereaves women of their husbands; Wid′ow's-cham′ber, the apparel and bedroom furniture of the widow of a London freeman, to which she was entitled; Wid′ow-wail, a dwarf shrub with pink, sweet-scented flowers, native to Spain and southern France.—Widow's lawn, a fine thin muslin; Widow's man, a fictitious person; Widow's silk, a silk fabric with dull surface, for mournings; Widow's weeds, the mourning dress of a widow. [A.S. widwe, wuduwe; Ger. wittwe, L. vidua, bereft of a husband, Sans. vidhavā.]

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz

  1. WIDOW

    The wife of a golfer during the open season, unless she golfs, too. In that event the children are golf orphans.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Widow' in Nouns Frequency: #1830

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce Widow?

How to say Widow in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Widow in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Widow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of Widow in a Sentence

  1. Montoya Major:

    My initial thought, when I found out I was pregnant, was, What am I going to do with a child ? i was living in Florida, away from all my family and friends. Having kids was never a thought of mine. I wanted to pursue my degree and establish a career. MOM SHOCKED TO FIND POLICE AT HOUSE PLAYING BASKETBALL WITH HER SONS I knew that now, my entire thought process would have to be re-evaluated, and I needed to figure out what to do next, she continued. Though the director of Majors academic program told her it would be nearly impossible to complete her studies with two babies on the way, she remained laser-focused on her studies, attending class every single day literally until the day I gave birth, as per Facebook. In May 2018, little Makenna and Makinlee were born early via C-section. One week later, Montoya Major was back in the classroom. The proud mom told Fox News that she never would have been able to weather the challenging season of life without the support of family and friends, especially her dad. Her father raised her as a widow, and always championed the importance of education as his daughter was the first in their family to attend college. Throughout this entire journey my father encouraged me the most although he was not physically there. My father and I are very close and have always been inseparable after my mother passed when I was young, Montoya Major told Fox News. Whenever I had an episode of wanting to quit school he always encouraged me that it would be worth it in the end. Nevertheless, the collegian would later reflect on that journey as the hardest year of my life balancing her studies and clinical rotations with caring for two newborns on her own.

  2. Barbara Bush:

    Nancy Reagan, the widow of former Republican President Nancy Reagan, died Sunday morning of congestive heart failure, according to Nancy Reagan spokesperson. Nancy Reagan was 94. Barbara Bush offered prayers and condolences from Barbara Bush and Barbara Bush husband, former President George H.W. Bush. Nancy Reagan was totally devoted to President Nancy Reagan, we take comfort that they will be reunited once more.

  3. Todd Spodek:

    I would never have my clients do anything like this, especially given the acrimonious relationship between the ex-wife and the widow. There was no urgency to the matter and the request could be misconstrued, attorneys have process servers and paralegals who can easily obtain a death certificate. It makes no sense to reach out to the wife.

  4. Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein:

    The target is online grooming, it’s about people who are vulnerable to these kind of approaches. We’ve had the ‘White Widow’ (British-born terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite) so this is actually happening to women here.

  5. Summer Barrios:

    Before Covid, I never thought I'd be a widow at 41.

more sentences »

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Widow#10000#11943#100000

References

Translations for Widow

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for Widow »

Translation

Find a translation for the Widow definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:

Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Widow." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 21 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Widow>.

Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

Discuss these Widow definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for Widow? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    Widow

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    being essentially equal to something
    A pecuniary
    B tantamount
    C repugnant
    D currish

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for Widow: