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

  • (..) Now it loves me Now I love it Don't you... What the... Good luck, little girls! Whoa! Cool. Hi! We're orphans from Miss Hattie's Home for Girls. - I don't care. Beat it! - Come on! We're selling cookies so, you know, we can have a better future. (..)
    2010 Despicable Me