1
: a child deprived by death of one or usually both parents
He became an orphan when his parents died in a car accident.
2
: a young animal that has lost its mother
feeding calves that are orphans
3
: one deprived of some protection or advantage
orphans of the storm
refugee orphans of the war
4
: a first line (as of a paragraph) separated from its related text and appearing at the bottom of a printed page or column
orphan
adjective
Examples of orphan in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Tj MacIas, Miami Herald, 14 Mar. 2025
The roughly 15 million recipients of Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance benefits — many of whom are severely disabled and destitute, or are orphans — are among the least politically powerful people in the U.S.
—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 22 Feb. 2025
Skyler Trepel, People.com, 15 Mar. 2025
Cassy the mountain lion, named for the Cascade Mountains where she was found orphaned as a cub in 2007, died at her Kansas zoo at 17 years old.
—Rhiannon Saegert, Kansas City Star, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for orphan
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Noun
Newborn orphan kittens are extremely fragile and have a high mortality rate before reaching 12 weeks of age due to different natural conditions, like low birth weight, Maddie’s Fund says.
—Tj MacIas, Miami Herald, 14 Mar. 2025
The roughly 15 million recipients of Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance benefits — many of whom are severely disabled and destitute, or are orphans — are among the least politically powerful people in the U.S.
—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 22 Feb. 2025
Verb
The story follows orphaned Michelle’s quest (Brown) to find her presumably dead brother Christopher (Woody Norman), who is mentally controlling a limited-vocabulary robot named Cosmo (Alan Tudyk).
—Skyler Trepel, People.com, 15 Mar. 2025
Cassy the mountain lion, named for the Cascade Mountains where she was found orphaned as a cub in 2007, died at her Kansas zoo at 17 years old.
—Rhiannon Saegert, Kansas City Star, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for orphan
Cite this Entry
“Orphan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/orphan. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
orphan
2 of 2 verb
orphaned; orphaning
ˈȯrf-(ə-)niŋ 
: to cause to become an orphan
children orphaned by war
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