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:
By targeting yield as a primary goal, investors often compromise their performance through poor portfolio diversification, heavier tax burdens and overpaying for dividend-paying stocks, Hartzmark said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
The jury blamed “the very poor quality of the underlying rock structure” and decided Mulholland had broken no law.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Locals have not been forced to evacuate, but a rest centre has been set up for people who do not wish to stay at home because of poor air quality.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The disease can be particularly aggressive, and outcomes are often poor when it is discovered at a later stage.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
His poor furless underpelt was no use at all.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
This occurs for two reasons: Homes sold by older people tend to have poorer upkeep, and older sellers are more likely to sell their homes off-MLS — and to investors.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
That represents only 0.1 percent of the total, but would be a significant sum for the leaderships of FIFA's poorer or smaller members.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
During the press conference, she described a broad vision that would shift the EDC’s focus to economically help poorer New Yorkers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
For national tournaments, the corollary is how poorer countries always have to match up against richer ones for regional faceoffs and qualifiers that culminate in the quadrennial dream that is the World Cup.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Nor were we permitted to lend books to other prisoners, which would have enabled our poorer colleagues to study.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
“It’s a program that works for the most vulnerable, the poorest kids in our society, and it’s really important we protect it,” he said in the Wednesday media call.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Many migrants come from some of the poorest, oppressive and most chaotic parts of the world.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Gov. Gavin Newsom called Imperial Valley “the Saudi Arabia of lithium” in 2022, and has touted the industry’s potential to bring jobs and community benefits to one of the poorest counties in the state.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Raised by a single mother in Korogocho, one of Nairobi's poorest informal settlements, Marius describes himself as "something like illiterate", and sees few options in a country where 40 percent live below the poverty line.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
She’d take a block of paper and a stick of charcoal and sketch the poorest, meanest kid in the room.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
