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orphans

The orphans CSS property sets the minimum number of lines in a block container that must be shown at the bottom of a page, region, or column.

/* <integer> values */
orphans: 2;
orphans: 3;

/* Global values */
orphans: inherit;
orphans: initial;
orphans: revert;
orphans: revert-layer;
orphans: unset;

In typography, an orphan is the first line of a paragraph that appears alone at the bottom of a page. (The paragraph continues on a following page.)

Syntax

Values

<integer>

The minimum number of lines that can stay by themselves at the bottom of a fragment before 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

Examples

Setting a minimum orphan size of three lines

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 orphans 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;
  height: 150px;
  columns: 3;
  orphans: 3;
}

p {
  background-color: #8ca0ff;
}

p:first-child {
  margin-top: 0;
}

Result

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
orphans 25 12 No 8 9.2 1.3 4.4 25 No 14 1 1.5

See also

© 2005–2023 MDN contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/orphans