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
Sydney Lake, Fortune, 26 Sep. 2024
His widow, Joann, his son Steve and other family will be presented with the medal Tuesday during a ceremony in Washington hosted by Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen.
—Rebecca Santana, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2024
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2024
The film’s synopsis reads: In rural Northern India, newly widowed Santosh inherits her late husband’s job as a police constable and becomes embroiled in the investigation of a young girl’s murder.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for widow 
Noun
Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, has been friends with the Democratic presidential nominee for years.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 26 Sep. 2024
His widow, Joann, his son Steve and other family will be presented with the medal Tuesday during a ceremony in Washington hosted by Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen.
—Rebecca Santana, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2024
Verb
Cesar, who’s widowed, is deeply devoted to the memory of his late wife, and his touchingly, melodramatically fervent demonstrations of enduring devotion are echoed in Coppola’s onscreen dedication of the movie to his wife, Eleanor, who died in April.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2024
The film’s synopsis reads: In rural Northern India, newly widowed Santosh inherits her late husband’s job as a police constable and becomes embroiled in the investigation of a young girl’s murder.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for widow
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.
Dictionary Entries Near widow
Cite this Entry
“Widow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/widow. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
widow
2 of 2 verb
: to cause to become a widow or widower
widowed by war
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