Sekirov Dictionary

orphan

UK /ˈɔːfən/US /ˈɔɹfən/

noun 6
adjective 2
verb 2
forms 6
phrases 1

noun6

a child whose mother and father have died
A person, especially a minor, whose parents have permanently abandoned them.
A young animal with no mother.
•
Any unreferenced object.
- 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. — 2003
(figurative) Anything that is unsupported, as by its source, provider or caretaker, by reason of the supporter's demise or decision to abandon.
A single line of type, beginning a paragraph, at the bottom of a column or page.

adjective2

•
Deprived of parents (also orphaned).
- She is an orphan child.
•
(figurative) Remaining after the removal of some form of support.
- With its government funding curtailed, the gun registry became an orphan program.

verb2

•
To deprive of parents (used almost exclusively in the passive).
- What do you do when you come across two orphaned polar bear cubs?
•
To make unavailable, as by removing the last remaining pointer or reference to.
- When you removed that image tag, you orphaned the resized icon.
- Removing categories orphans pages from the main category tree.

forms

orphaned · orphanedst · orphaning · orphaneth · orphans · orphanest

Phrases with orphan

orphan off
To treat (a child) as an orphan, such as by sending them into foster care or adopting them out.

This dictionary works without the internet: on your phone · in Chrome