widow

wid‧ow /ˈwɪdəʊ $ -doʊ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Language: Old English; Origin: wuduwe]
1. a woman whose husband has died and who has not married again:
an elderly widow who was attacked and robbed last month
a wealthy widow
2. football/golf etc widow a woman whose husband spends all his free time watching football, playing golf etc – used humorously
• • •
THESAURUS
■ husband/wife etc
▪ husband/wife the man/woman you are married to: My wife’s a teacher.
▪ partner the person you live with and have a sexual relationship with. Partner is often used when people are not married, or when you do not know if they are married. It is also used when talking about same-sex couples: He lives with his partner Ruth and their eight-month-old son.
▪ fiancé/fiancée the man/woman you are engaged to: He and fiancée Wendy Hodgson will marry in July.
▪ divorcee a woman who is divorced: The Prince announced his intention to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.
▪ widow/widower a woman or man whose husband or wife has died: Imelda Marcos, the widow of the former President
▪ spouse formal your spouse is your husband or wife: The rule applies to spouses and children of military personnel.
▪ estranged wife/husband formal someone’s estranged husband or wife is one who they do not live with anymore: She is trying to get her sons back from her estranged husband.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

widow

widow [widow widows widowed widowing] noun, verb [ˈwɪdəʊ] [ˈwɪdoʊ]

noun
a woman whose husband has died and who has not married again
• She gets a widow's pension.
Word Origin:
Old English widewe, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘be empty’; compare with Sanskrit vidh ‘be destitute’, Latin viduus ‘bereft, widowed’, and Greek ēitheos ‘unmarried man’.

Derived Word: widowed

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

widow / ˈwɪd.əʊ / / -oʊ / noun [ C ]

B2 a woman whose husband or wife has died and who has not married again

fishing/football/golf widow informal humorous

a woman whose partner is often not at home because he or she is fishing or playing football or golf

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

widow

[wɪ̱doʊ]
widows
N-COUNT
A widow is a woman whose husband has died and who has not married again.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

widow

wid·ow /ˈwɪdoʊ/ noun, pl -ows [count]
1 : a woman whose husband has died
2 informal : a woman whose husband often leaves her alone while he plays sports or is involved in other activities
• a football widow [=a woman whose husband spends a lot of time watching football]
• Everyone joked that she was a golf widow. [=a woman whose husband is often away playing golf]