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land-poor

American  
[land-poor] / ˈlændˌpʊər /

adjective

  1. in need of ready money while owning much land.


land-poor British  

adjective

  1. owning much unprofitable land and lacking the money to maintain its fertility or improve it

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of land-poor

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Texas—immense, unorganized, full of cattle for which no profitable market could be found, cattle-rustlers, land-poor cow-barons and original sin.

From Time Magazine Archive

The motive of President after President was to encourage settlement of the empty, rocky area, once regarded hungrily by land-poor Chile as a possible zone of expansion.

From Time Magazine Archive

His father, a land-poor, dirt-poor migrant farmer, went as far north as Canada to harvest crops.

From Time Magazine Archive

Already the land-poor country's 700 golf courses take up as much space as 1� Tokyos.

From Time Magazine Archive

But the mill, all my old employees, with their numerous dependents—gone, with you left land-poor and without a dollar to pay your taxes.

From The Valley of the Giants by Kyne, Peter B. (Peter Bernard)

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