poverty

[ pov-er-tee ]
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noun
  1. the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.

  2. deficiency of necessary or desirable ingredients, qualities, etc.: poverty of the soil.

  1. scantiness; insufficiency: Their efforts to stamp out disease were hampered by a poverty of medical supplies.

Origin of poverty

1
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English poverte, from Old French, from Latin paupertāt- (stem of paupertās ) “small means, moderate circumstances.”; see pauper, -ty2

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use poverty in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for poverty

poverty

/ (ˈpɒvətɪ) /


noun
  1. the condition of being without adequate food, money, etc

  2. scarcity or dearth: a poverty of wit

  1. a lack of elements conducive to fertility in land or soil

Origin of poverty

1
C12: from Old French poverté, from Latin paupertās restricted means, from pauper poor

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