dirt poor

adjective

1. lacking nearly all material means or resources for living.

dirt-poor

adjective

1. extremely poor

Word History and Origins

Origin of dirt poor¹

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

Example Sentences

The family had grown up dirt-poor, sharecropping the 20,000 acres of cotton that stretched out below Sand Mountain.

From The Daily Beast

They are poor; “dirt poor” is no exaggeration, for their land has been depleted by cotton farming and untilled for seven years.

From The Daily Beast

“I considered it a gesture of good will because these people are so dirt poor,” said Stidham.

From The Daily Beast

She had grown up dirt poor in the rural South, and her whole life trajectory had been a kind of fairy tale.

From The Daily Beast

Related Words

• bankrupt
• exhausted
• impoverished
• indigent
• insolvent
• needy
• penniless
• poor
• poverty-stricken
• strapped