poor relation
Britishnoun
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.
Bayswater was long considered the poor relation of its ultradesirable London neighbors Notting Hill and Marylebone, but new development is driving up home prices in the area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
Though it can seem the poor relation of “real” television, the game show has a long history with the medium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2023
Lawyers believe that the Treasury has long seen justice as a poor relation to health and education in terms of public spending.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2020
Diagnostics has been the poor relation to drugs and vaccines for years, as governments are now realising to their cost.
From The Guardian ● May 1, 2020
Horses too are apt to share the misgivings of their riders, and water-jumping, like a loan to a poor relation, if not done freely, had better not be done at all.
From Riding Recollections, 5th ed. by Whyte-Melville, G. J. (George John)
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.
