poor box

American  

noun

1. a box, especially in a church, into which contributions for people in need can be dropped.

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poor box British  

noun

1. a box, esp one in a church, used for the collection of alms or money for the poor

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Etymology

Origin of poor box

First recorded in 1615–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

poor box

While Zegler and Disney declined to comment for the piece, the article quotes an anonymous insider who blamed the movie’s poor box office returns on Zegler.

From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2025

In 2005, a worker at a church in Jamaica, Queens, saw Mr. Krah rooting around with a hanger in the slit of a poor box, according to a criminal complaint.

From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2016

With the recent Fantastic Four reboot’s poor box office performance, a lot of people are wondering if superhero fatigue is setting in.

From Time ● Aug. 20, 2015

The play, which runs just 70 minutes, met a quick demise following mostly negative reviews and poor box office.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2015

Underneath his thin guayabera, I could see the muscles of his broad shoulders shifting as he reached down and gave me a wad of bills to put in the poor box as his donation.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez