poor

[poor]

adjective

poorer, poorest 

1. having little or no money, goods, or other means of support.

   She came from a poor family struggling to survive.

   Synonyms: straitened, necessitous, poverty-stricken, penniless, destitute, impoverished, indigent, needy
   Antonyms: wealthy, rich

2. Law.,  dependent upon charity or public support.

3. (of a country, institution, etc.) meagerly supplied or endowed with resources or funds.

4. characterized by or showing poverty.

5. deficient or lacking in something specified.

   a region poor in mineral deposits.

   Synonyms: meager

6. faulty or inferior, as in construction.

   poor workmanship.

   Synonyms: shabby, unsatisfactory

7. (of land or soil) lacking abundance or productivity.

   poor soil.

   Synonyms: unfruitful, barren, sterile
   Antonyms: fertile

8. excessively lean or emaciated, as cattle.

   Synonyms: thin, gaunt, meager, skinny

9. of an inferior, inadequate, or unsatisfactory kind.

   poor health.

10. lacking in skill, ability, or training.

    a poor cook.

11. deficient in moral excellence; cowardly, abject, or mean.

12. scanty, meager, or paltry in amount or number.

    a poor audience.

13. humble; modest.

    They shared their poor meal with a stranger.

14. unfortunate; hapless.

    The poor dog was limping.

    Synonyms: pitiable, unhappy, miserable

noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. Often Disparaging and Offensive.,  Usually the poor poor people collectively.

poor

/ pʊə, pɔː /

adjective

1. 1. lacking financial or other means of subsistence; needy

   2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      the poor

2. characterized by or indicating poverty

   the country had a poor economy

3. deficient in amount; scanty or inadequate

   a poor salary

4. badly supplied (with resources, materials, etc)

   a region poor in wild flowers

5. lacking in quality; inferior

6. giving no pleasure; disappointing or disagreeable

   a poor play

7. (prenominal) deserving of pity; unlucky

   poor John is ill again

8. a (cheaper) substitute for something

Pronunciation Note

In North and North Midland U.S. English, the vowel of poor is most often . Poor and sure thus contrast with pour and shore: , versus , or , . In the South Midland and South, the vowel of poor is generally or (often with the final (r) dropped), which means that in these areas, poor and pour are homophones, as are sure and shore. Both types of pronunciation exist in the British Isles.

Other Word Forms

• poorness noun
• nonpoor noun
• quasi-poor adjective
• quasi-poorly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of poor¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English pov(e)re, from Old French povre, from Latin pauper; pauper

Word History and Origins

Origin of poor¹

C13: from Old French povre, from Latin pauper; see _pauper , _poverty

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. poor as Job's turkey, extremely poor.

2. poor as a church mouse, extremely poor.

Synonym Study

Poor, impecunious, impoverished, penniless refer to those lacking money. Poor is the simple term for the condition of lacking means to obtain the comforts of life: a very poor family. Impecunious often suggests that the poverty is a consequence of unwise habits: an impecunious actor. Impoverished often implies a former state of greater plenty, from which one has been reduced: the impoverished aristocracy. Penniless may mean destitute, or it may apply simply to a temporary condition of being without funds: The widow was left penniless with three small children.

Example Sentences

Dubbed Peru's first poor president, Castillo, a former trade unionist and rural schoolteacher, won power in 2021 on a wave of frustration with conventional politics.

Read more on BBC

Jacob's Well Appeal was founded in 1982 as an aid organisation, sending medical aid to some of the world's poorest countries.

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The backdrop of skyscrapers and shiny office towers was a stark reminder of the gulf separating rich and poor in South Africa, which the World Bank ranks as the most unequal country on the planet.

Read more on Barron's

More than 40 percent of people in the poorest of New York's five boroughs, the Bronx, eat neither fruits nor vegetables in an average week.

Read more on Barron's

"This was preventable... A lot of people did not do their duties," the 33-year-old tells the BBC, claiming that the renovation firm used "poor quality, flammable materials".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• feeble 
• inferior 
• insufficient 
• meager 
• mediocre 
• miserable 
• modest 
• ordinary 
• shoddy 
• substandard 
• unsatisfactory 
• weak