widow-maker

noun

wid·​ow-mak·​er ˈwi-dō-ˌmā-kər 

-də-

variants or widow maker or less commonly widowmaker

: something having the potential to cause sudden loss of life

"Our biggest worry is the mines," says Sgt. Darrell McCoy. The Third Platoon has been well trained to handle those widow-makers.

—David H. Hackworth

: such as

a

: a loose limb hanging in or falling from a tree

Broken branches that are hung up high in the canopy are called widow makers, for good reason.

—Jack Ewing

b

: a blockage in a branch of the left coronary artery that commonly causes a fatal heart attack

also : the branch of the left coronary artery susceptible to fatal blockage

One of my arteries—one known as "the widowmaker"—was almost completely blocked.

—Rob Mikulak

Examples of widow-maker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Best-selling author and former flight attendant T.J. Newman’s latest thriller, Worst Case Scenario, begins with a commercial airliner pilot suffering a widow-maker heart attack shortly after takeoff. —Shannon Carlin, TIME, 31 July 2024

The political widow-maker of the Israeli Left strikes again. —Neri Zilber, Foreign Affairs, 23 May 2016

Word History

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

widow-maker

noun

wid·​ow-mak·​er ˈwi-(ˌ)dō-ˌmā-kər 

variants or widow maker also widowmaker

: a blockage in a branch of the left coronary artery that commonly causes a fatal heart attack

As the dye fills the coronary arteries surrounding and feeding the heart muscle, they can often be seen with remarkable clarity. So can the small constrictions inside the vessels—"widow-makers," cardiologists call them …

—H. Garrett DeYoung, High Technology

also : the branch of the left coronary artery susceptible to fatal blockage

One of my arteries—one known as "the widowmaker"—was almost completely blocked.

—Rob Mikulak, The Asheville (North Carolina) Citizen-Times