orphan

Definition

  • noun: a child whose parents are dead
  • noun: a child deprived by death of one or usually both parents
  • verb: to cause (a child) to become an orphan
  • verb: to cause to become an orphan
  • sometimes used of animals
  • synonyms: parentless, twice-bereaved, fatherless

Examples

  • He was left an 'orphan' [=he became an orphan] when his parents died in a car accident.

  • The second volume of the two-volume set 'was orphaned' when we lost the first volume.

  • He 'was orphaned' as a young boy when his parents died in a car accident.

Movie clips

Movie quotes

  • (..) Just a minute. Robin Hood steals money from my pocket... ...forcing me to hurt the public... ...and they love him for it? Cancel the food scraps for orphans. No more merciful beheadings. And call off Christmas! The treasury is empty. Day and night people plague my door... (..)
    1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves