Web/CSS/widows

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 3The 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 ModuleThe 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

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`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