orphan — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A person, especially a minor, both or (rarely) one of whose parents have died.

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Rudolf was the bold, bad Baron of traditional melodrama. Irene was young, as pretty as a picture, fresh from a music academy in England. He was the scion of an ancient noble family; she an orphan without money or friends.

2. A person, especially a minor, whose parents have permanently abandoned them.

3. A young animal with no mother.

4. Anything that is unsupported, as by its source, provider or caretaker, by reason of the supporter's demise or decision to abandon.

   Usage

   • Figurative

5. A single line of type, beginning a paragraph, at the bottom of a column or page.

   Antonyms

   widow

6. Any unreferenced object.

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   An orphan isn't harmful in a language that has garbage collection, such as Java. However, reducing the number of orphans can be expected to improve code performance.

Adjective

1. Deprived of parents (also orphaned).

   Usage

   • not-comparable

   Examples

   She is an orphan child.

2. Remaining after the removal of some form of support.

   Usage

   • broadly
   • Figurative
   • not-comparable

   Examples

   With its government funding curtailed, the gun registry became an orphan program.

Verb

1. To deprive of parents (used almost exclusively in the passive).

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Examples

   What do you do when you come across two orphaned polar bear cubs?

2. To make unavailable, as by removing the last remaining pointer or reference to.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Examples

   When you removed that image tag, you orphaned the resized icon.

   Removing categories orphans pages from the main category tree.

Noun

1. a child who has lost both parents

   Broader terms

   childkidyoungsterminorshavernippersmall frytiddlertiketykefrynestling

2. someone or something who lacks support or care or supervision

   Broader terms

   personindividualsomeonesomebodymortalsoul

3. the first line of a paragraph that is set as the last line of a page or column

   Broader terms

   line

4. a young animal without a mother

   Broader terms

   youngoffspring

Verb

1. deprive of parents

   Broader terms

   deprivestripdivest