POOR Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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poor

[ poor ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

poorer, poorest.

having little or no money, goods, or other means of support:
She came from a poor family struggling to survive.
Synonyms: , , , , , , ,
Antonyms: ,
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.
Synonyms:
faulty or inferior, as in construction:
poor workmanship.
Synonyms: ,
(of land or soil) lacking abundance or productivity:
poor soil.
Synonyms: , ,
Antonyms:
excessively lean or emaciated, as cattle.
Synonyms: , , ,
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.
humble; modest:
They shared their poor meal with a stranger.
unfortunate; hapless:
The poor dog was limping.
Synonyms: , ,

noun

(used with a plural verb)

Usually the poor. Often Disparaging and Offensive. poor people collectively.

poor

/ pʊə; pɔː /

adjective

1. lacking financial or other means of subsistence; needy
2. ( 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
whenpostpositive, 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

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Pronunciation Note

In North and North Midland U.S. English, the vowel of poor is most often [oo]. Poor and sure thus contrast with pour and shore: [p, oo, r], [sh, oo, r] versus [pawr], [shawr] or [pohr], [shohr]. In the South Midland and South, the vowel of poor is generally [aw] or [oh] (often with the final (r) dropped), which means that in these areas, poor and pour are homophones, as are sure and shore. Both types of pronunciation exist in the British Isles.

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Derived Forms

ˈ��Ǵǰ��Ա��, noun

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Other �y��vlog Forms

��Ǵǰ�·�Ա�� noun
�Դǲ�·��Ǵǰ� noun
��ܲ�·��-��Ǵǰ� adjective
��ܲ�·��-��Ǵǰ�·ly adverb

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of poor¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English pov(e)re, from Old French povre, from Latin pauper; pauper

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of poor¹

C13: from Old French povre, from Latin pauper; see pauper , poverty

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Idioms and Phrases

poor as Job's turkey, Southern and South Midland U.S. extremely poor.
poor as a church mouse, extremely poor.

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Synonym Study

Poor, impecunious, impoverished, penniless refer to those lacking money. Poor is the simple term for the condition of lacking means to obtain the comforts of life: a very poor family. Impecunious often suggests that the poverty is a consequence of unwise habits: an impecunious actor. Impoverished often implies a former state of greater plenty, from which one has been reduced: the impoverished aristocracy. Penniless may mean destitute, or it may apply simply to a temporary condition of being without funds: The widow was left penniless with three small children.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Also to be considered are the benefits of adopting a fresh approach under a new head coach to ensure the deficiencies that have contributed to such a poor campaign are not repeated.

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A week ago Guardiola admitted it had been a "poor" season and he had done a "bad" job.

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Like their male counterparts in online Christian discourse, Halili and Reitsma don't seem much interested in Christian doctrines about feeding the poor, healing the sick or welcoming the stranger.

From

Novice chaser looking to break duck for trainer, who is one of the greats but has poor record in this race – with no win from 43 previous runners.

From

Next, let's go back nearly two decades to the financial crisis and the historically poor growth and negligible average earnings growth that has afflicted the UK ever since.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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