poor
having little or no money, goods, or other means of support: She came from a poor family struggling to survive.
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.
faulty or inferior, as in construction: poor workmanship.
(of land or soil) lacking abundance or productivity: poor soil.
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.
unfortunate; hapless: The poor dog was limping.
Usually the poor .Often Disparaging and Offensive. poor people collectively.
Idioms about poor
poor as a church mouse, extremely poor.
poor as Job's turkey, Southern and South Midland U.S. extremely poor.
Origin of poor
1synonym study For poor
pronunciation note For poor
Other words for poor
1 | needy, indigent, impoverished, destitute, penniless, poverty-stricken, necessitous, straitened |
5 | meager |
6 | unsatisfactory, shabby |
7 | sterile, barren, unfruitful, unproductive |
8 | thin, skinny, meager, gaunt |
14 | miserable, unhappy, pitiable |
Opposites for poor
Other words from poor
- poor·ness, noun
- non·poor, noun
- qua·si-poor, adjective
- qua·si-poor·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with poor
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use poor in a sentence
He was dwelling on his mistakes, replaying poor routes or missed assignments in his head on a loop.
For undrafted NFL rookies, the odds were even longer this year. Isaiah Wright made it anyway. | Sam Fortier | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostLike Westbrook, his poor outside shooting will hamper his ability to age gracefully.
NBA free agency tracker (plus trades): Warriors acquire Kelly Oubre; 76ers trade Al Horford to Thunder | Ben Golliver | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostThey found that underspecification was to blame for poor performance in all of them.
The way we train AI is fundamentally flawed | Will Heaven | November 18, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewThis could be especially important for Congress, considering most Americans have a poor opinion of it.
How A Record Number Of Republican Women Will — And Won’t — Change Congress | Meredith Conroy | November 16, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightThe lawsuits made it hard, if not impossible, for poor people to make ends meet.
There the poorness of the plant itself, no less than the peculiar use of it, shows plainly what a stranger it is.
The Art of Drinking | Georg Gottfried GervinusIt was a poor-looking little house, and its poorness had extended to its surroundings—as if poverty was a contagion that spread.
The Escape of Mr. Trimm | Irvin S. CobbThe struggle after so-called delicacies comes from the poorness of common things.
It is, of course, in the endeavor to counteract the poorness of the light that so long an exposure is frequently given.
I knew the state of Spain well—his weakness, his poorness, his humbleness at this time.
Great Ralegh | Hugh De Selincourt
British Dictionary definitions for poor
/ (pʊə, pɔː) /
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
(when postpositive, usually foll by in) 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
poor man's something a (cheaper) substitute for something
Origin of poor
1Derived forms of poor
- poorness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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