poor

Use poor in a sentence

A poor family.

adjective

The definition of poor is having little money or belongings, or lacking something.
1. An example of poor is living below the poverty line.
2. An example of poor used as an adjective is the phrase poor communication skills which means that a person cannot communicate well with others.

noun

Poor is defined as people with little to no money or belongings.
An example of the poor is everyone who lives in poverty.

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"poor." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 26 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/POOR>.

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poor. (n.d.). Retrieved May 26th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/POOR

poor

1. lacking material possessions; having little or no means to support oneself; needy; impoverished
2. indicating or characterized by poverty
lacking in some quality or thing; specif.,
1. lacking abundance; scanty; inadequate: poor crops
2. lacking productivity; barren; sterile: poor soil
3. lacking nourishment; feeble; emaciated: a poor body
4. lacking excellence or worth; below average, inferior, bad, etc. or paltry, mean, insignificant, etc.
5. lacking good moral or mental qualities; mean-spirited; contemptible
6. lacking pleasure, comfort, or satisfaction: to have a poor time
7. lacking skill
worthy of pity; unfortunate

Origin of poor

Middle English pore from Old French povre from Classical Latin pauper, poor from Indo-European base an unverified form p?u-, small from source few, foal

poor Idioms

the poor

poor, or needy, people collectively

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"poor." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 26 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/POOR>.

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poor. (n.d.). Retrieved May 26th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/POOR

poor

adjective

poor·er, poor·est

a. Having insufficient wealth to meet the necessities or comforts of life or to live in a manner considered acceptable in a society.
b. Relating to or characterized by poverty: the poor side of town.
Deficient or lacking in a specified resource or quality: an area poor in timber and coal; a diet poor in calcium.
Not adequate in quality or quantity; inferior: a poor performance; poor wages.
Negative, unfavorable, or disapproving: has a poor opinion of the mayor.
Undernourished; lean. Used especially of animals.
Humble; meek: “Let the humble ones arise, the poor in heart be glad” ( John Greenleaf Whittier )
Eliciting or deserving pity; pitiable: couldn't rescue the poor fellow.

noun

used with a pl. verb

Poor people considered as a group: The urban poor are in need of homes.

Origin of poor

Middle English poure from Old French povre from Latin pauper ; see pau-¹ in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

poor′ness
noun

Usage Note: In informal speech poor is sometimes used as an adverb, as in They never played poorer. In formal usage more poorly would be required in this example.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"poor." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 26 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/POOR>.

APA Style

poor. (n.d.). Retrieved May 26th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/POOR

poor

poor indigent needy impecunious penniless impoverished poverty-stricken destitute

These adjectives mean lacking the money or the means for an adequate or comfortable life. Poor is the most general: “Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness” (Samuel Johnson). Indigent and needy refer to one in need or want: indigent people living on the street; distributed food to needy families. Impecunious and penniless mean having little or no money: “Certainly an impecunious Subaltern was not a catch” (Rudyard Kipling). He made poor investments which left him penniless. One who is impoverished has been reduced to poverty: an impoverished, third-world country. Poverty-stricken means suffering from poverty and miserably poor: refugees living in poverty-stricken camps. Destitute means lacking any means of subsistence: tenants left destitute by the fire.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"poor." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 26 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/POOR>.

APA Style

poor. (n.d.). Retrieved May 26th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/POOR

Adjective

(comparative poorer, superlative poorest)

With little or no possessions or money.
We were so poor that we couldn't afford shoes.
Of low quality.
That was a poor performance.
To be pitied.
Oh you poor little thing.
Deficient in a specified way.
Cow's milk is poor in iron.
Inadequate, insufficient.
I received a poor reward for all my hard work.
Free from self-assertion; not proud or arrogant; meek.

Antonyms

(having little or no possessions): rich
(of low quality): good
(deficient in a specified way): rich
(inadequate): adequate

Noun

(plural only)

(with "the") Those who have little or no possessions or money, taken as a group.
The poor are always with us.

Origin

From Middle English povre, povere, from Old French (Anglo-Norman) povre, poure (Modern French pauvre), from Latin pauper, from Old Latin *pavo-pars (“getting little"), from Proto-Indo-European *phâ‚w- (“smallness"). Cognate with Old English fÄ“awa (“little, few"). Displaced native Middle English earm, arm (“poor") (from Old English earm; See arm), Middle English wantsum, wantsome (“poor, needy") (from Old Norse vant (“deficiency, lack, want"), Middle English unlede (“poor") (from Old English unlÇ£de, Middle English unweli, unwely (“poor, unwealthy") (from Old English un- + weliÄ¡ (“well-to-do, prosperous, rich").