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• poor white
  poor white

  noun

  a member of a class of white people, especially of the southern U.S., having low social status and little or no money, property, or education.
• poor White
  poor White

poor white

American  

noun

Usually Disparaging and Offensive.

1. a member of a class of white people, especially of the southern U.S., having low social status and little or no money, property, or education.

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poor White British  

noun

1. offensive

   1. a poverty-stricken and underprivileged White person, esp in the southern US and South Africa

   2. ( as modifier )

      poor White trash

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Etymology

Origin of poor white

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

poor white poor White

Organizer Ross Morales Rocketto discussed how many working-class and poor white men found the GOP candidate’s restoring masculinity approach appealing.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2024

But his life story was just as compelling: a poor white kid entranced by Black hip-hop, a technical genius in love with rap music but justifiably uncertain of his place in it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2023

He wrote the bestseller “Hillbilly Elegy,” which touches on the abandonment of poor white people — even though he has a law degree from Yale and worked as a venture capitalist.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 28, 2022

Our neighbors were poor white and Black Americans, with a few recently arrived Cambodian families thrown in.

From New York Times ● Apr. 5, 2022

Were the poor white passengers going to die as a result?

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

In the United States, debt bondage was a common means by which southern farmers kept a labor force of African American people and poor White people at their disposal.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

Be3 f4! opens new lines of attack, and the poor White king is flushed out into the open after 27.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 15, 2022

We could have immense impact in reducing the disparate harms that Black people, Native Americans, immigrants and poor White people face if we reduced our dependence on cars.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 18, 2021

Historically, the same sterilization programs that the Nation of Islam members evoke also purposefully targeted poor White people.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2021

It was found upon examination that the spine had received irreparable injury, and that if poor White lived, which was doubtful, it would be as a helpless cripple.

From Emilie the Peacemaker by Mrs. Thomas Geldart