
A widow is the end of a paragraph (a single line of [text](/glossary/text_copy) consisting of one or more words) that appears at the top of a column. An orphan is a single word (or syllable) that sits at the bottom of a paragraph of text.

Additionally, an orphan can refer to the first line of a new paragraph that sits on its own at the bottom of a column of text.

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![Two different columns of text, set on the left with undesirable widows and orphans, and set again on the right with manual corrections. The first example shows a leftover word from the previous paragraph (widow); the second shows a lone word on the end of the current paragraph (orphan).](images/thumbnail.svg)
<figcaption>The first example shows a leftover word from the previous paragraph (widow); the second shows a lone word on the end of the current paragraph (orphan). On the right, both examples are corrected.</figcaption>

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Text with many widows and orphans typically has poor readability, and they should be avoided if possible. They occur frequently when setting long-form text, so it’s useful to know how to tackle them when they arise. See our article [“Avoiding widows & orphans”](/lesson/avoiding_widows_orphans) for more information.
