poor
Americanadjective
-
poorer,
comparative
-
poorest
superlative
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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.
See Examples For:
“If any company sells a product that causes massive harm, they’ll get sued into oblivion,” he shared on X. “That’s how companies go broke and rich people become poor people.”
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
He’d come from a very poor family and had struggled all his life for financial stability.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
The eruption disrupted air travel and contributed to poor air quality in several areas, including Jakarta.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
The goal they conceded just before the break was the type of goal that poor sides give away.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
His poor furless underpelt was no use at all.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
When facing questions from the committee, the tired-looking Patel did a much poorer job than Bondi of flinging insults at senators.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
First launched in 2007, the Flying Start scheme was primarily designed to help children in the poorer areas of the country with their language, social and physical development before starting school.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
The 35-year-old has managed to set himself up in a fashionable district, even though informal businesses like his are mostly confined to poorer neighbourhoods.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
She’s also regularly had patients learn about very low protein levels, which she said could be associated with poorer recovery from procedures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
"I need to start back to the castle. If you do not come with me, I may lose my way for grief, and all the islands would be poorer."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
For the next 16 years, he hardly owned any material possessions and worked for free as a high school teacher in San Francisco and throughout some of the poorest areas in the San Joaquin Valley.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Nathan Grady, charity food coordinator, said: "We are statistically the poorest borough in London and we recognise that there's a big need. People are missing meals - children are missing meals."
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Albania is one of the poorest countries in Europe.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Saxony-Anhalt is the eighth-largest of Germany’s 16 states by land area; measured by economic output per person, it is among the poorest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
Maybe being the least prestigious, poorest, most ridiculed district in the country has its advantages.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
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.
