The widows CSS property sets the minimum number of lines in a block container that must be shown at the top of a page, region, or column.
/* <integer> values */ widows: 2; widows: 3; /* Global values */ widows: inherit; widows: initial; widows: unset;
In typography, a widow is the last line of a paragraph that appears alone at the top of a page. (The paragraph is continued from a prior page.)
Syntax
Values
<integer>- The minimum number of lines that can stay by themselves at the top of a new fragment after a fragmentation break. The value must be positive.
Formal definition
| Initial value | 2 |
|---|---|
| Applies to | block container elements |
| Inherited | yes |
| Computed value | as specified |
| Animation type | discrete |
Formal syntax
<integer>
Examples
Controlling column widows
HTML
<div> <p>This is the first paragraph containing some text.</p> <p>This is the second paragraph containing some more text than the first one. It is used to demonstrate how widows work.</p> <p>This is the third paragraph. It has a little bit more text than the first one.</p> </div>
CSS
div {
background-color: #8cffa0;
columns: 3;
widows: 2;
}
p {
background-color: #8ca0ff;
}
p:first-child {
margin-top: 0;
}
Result
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| CSS Fragmentation Module Level 3 The definition of 'widows' in that specification. |
Candidate Recommendation | Extends widows to apply to any type of fragment, including pages, regions, or columns. |
| CSS Multi-column Layout Module The definition of 'widows' in that specification. |
Working Draft | Recommendations to consider widows in relation to columns. |
| CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'widows' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition. |
Browser compatibility
The compatibility table on this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.
| Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
widows | Chrome Full support 25 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox No support No | IE Full support 8 | Opera Full support 9.2 | Safari Full support 1.3 | WebView Android Full support ≤37 | Chrome Android Full support 25 | Firefox Android No support No | Opera Android Full support 14 | Safari iOS Full support 1 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.5 |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
- No support
- No support
