poor
Americanadjective
-
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
-
Law. dependent upon charity or public support.
-
(of a country, institution, etc.) meagerly supplied or endowed with resources or funds.
-
characterized by or showing poverty.
-
deficient or lacking in something specified.
a region poor in mineral deposits.
- Synonyms:
- meager
-
faulty or inferior, as in construction.
poor workmanship.
- Synonyms:
- shabby, unsatisfactory
-
(of land or soil) lacking abundance or productivity.
poor soil.
- Synonyms:
- unfruitful, barren, sterile
- Antonyms:
- fertile
-
excessively lean or emaciated, as cattle.
-
of an inferior, inadequate, or unsatisfactory kind.
poor health.
-
lacking in skill, ability, or training.
a poor cook.
-
deficient in moral excellence; cowardly, abject, or mean.
-
scanty, meager, or paltry in amount or number.
a poor audience.
-
They shared their poor meal with a stranger.
-
The poor dog was limping.
noun
idioms
-
poor as Job's turkey, extremely poor.
-
poor as a church mouse, extremely poor.
adjective
-
-
lacking financial or other means of subsistence; needy
-
( as collective noun; preceded by the )
the poor
-
-
characterized by or indicating poverty
the country had a poor economy
-
deficient in amount; scanty or inadequate
a poor salary
-
badly supplied (with resources, materials, etc)
a region poor in wild flowers
-
lacking in quality; inferior
-
giving no pleasure; disappointing or disagreeable
a poor play
-
(prenominal) deserving of pity; unlucky
poor John is ill again
-
a (cheaper) substitute for something
Pronunciation
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.
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of poor
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English pov(e)re, from Old French povre, from Latin pauper; see pauper
Explanation
Poor describes having little of something. If you lack needed food and shelter, you're poor, and if you fall below a standard or don't even try, you're giving a poor performance. Empty pockets and empty efforts both mean poor. Rich or wealthy often serve as opposites of poor. If you have material things, you're rich, and if you don't, you're poor. You can be full of knowledge but get poor grades if you're not studying, or you might be poor in terms of money but rich in friends and kindness. Poor can also be used as a noun, as in "Charity is aimed at helping the poor."
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.
Supreme Court established the right to an attorney in state court criminal proceedings, California has saddled its counties with the responsibility of providing lawyers to poor people accused of crimes.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2026
“Resurrectionists” – body snatchers – exhumed the recently buried, disproportionately targeting the poor, the institutionalized and those without family protection or the financial means to guard graves.
From Science Daily • Jun. 21, 2026
First and foremost it was a great ball in from Declan Rice, and while Croatia's defending was poor, Kane made the absolute most of it.
From BBC • Jun. 20, 2026
This is a life-changing amount of money that would dramatically improve the American people’s lives by alleviating the stress and anxiety, poor health and even premature death that comes from financial precarity.
From Salon • Jun. 20, 2026
I skip the part where I have to decide some poor guy’s fate and just go with the standard details: the pieces I’m working on at school and a few other random things.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
