orphan

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A child whose parents have both died, or who has lost both and has no one to care for them.

   Grammar: Countable: an orphan, two orphans.

   Patterns

   • an orphan of something

   The orphan was raised by her grandmother after the accident.

   The charity supports orphans in three countries.

   Many orphans were sent to the countryside during the war.

2. 2verbtransitive

   To cause a child to lose both parents, usually through death.

   Grammar: Almost always passive: she was orphaned at six.

   Patterns

   • be orphaned by something
   • orphan someone

   He was orphaned at age five when his parents died in a flood.

   The epidemic orphaned thousands of children.

   She was orphaned young and grew up with an aunt.

3. 3nouncountabletechnical

   Something left without its usual support or connection, such as a stray line of text at the start of a page or a file with nothing linking to it.

   Grammar: Used figuratively or technically: an orphan page.

   Patterns

   • an orphan page
   • an orphan line

   The editor removed the orphan at the bottom of the page.

   An orphan page has no links pointing to it.

Word forms

Common combinations

war orphan

The museum tells the story of a war orphan.

orphaned at a young age

She was orphaned at a young age.

orphan drug

An orphan drug treats a very rare disease.

leave someone an orphan

The disaster left him an orphan.

orphan works

Libraries struggle with orphan works whose owners cannot be found.

Synonyms and how they differ

waif

Waif is literary and suggests a neglected, homeless child, while orphan stresses the loss of parents.

foundling

Foundling means an abandoned baby whose parents are unknown, whereas an orphan's parents have died.

ward

Ward means a child under legal care, which an orphan may or may not be.

Word family

orphaned adjective

having lost both parents

orphanage noun

an institution caring for orphans

orphanhood noun

the state of being an orphan

orphan drug noun

a medicine for a rare condition

Commonly confused: orphan or ward?

Practice

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