/ pɔː(r); pʊə(r); NAmE pɔːr; pʊr/ adjective
( poor·er , poor·est )
HAVING LITTLE MONEY
1.
having very little money; not having enough money for basic needs :
They were too poor to buy shoes for the kids.
We aim to help the poorest families.
It's among the poorer countries of the world.
OPP rich
2.
the poor noun [ pl. ] people who have very little money :
They provided food and shelter for the poor.
OPP rich
UNFORTUNATE
3.
[ only before noun ] deserving pity and sympathy :
Have you heard about poor old Harry? His wife's left him.
It's hungry—the poor little thing.
'I have stacks of homework to do.' 'Oh, you poor thing .'
NOT GOOD
4.
not good; of a quality that is low or lower than expected :
the party's poor performance in the election
to be in poor health
It was raining heavily and visibility was poor.
poor food / light / soil
to have a poor opinion of sb (= to not think well of sb)
5.
( of a person ) not good or skilled at sth :
a poor swimmer
a poor judge of character
She's a good teacher but a poor manager.
a poor sailor (= sb who easily gets sick at sea)
HAVING LITTLE OF STH
6.
poor in sth having very small amounts of sth :
a country poor in natural resources
soil poor in nutrients
OPP rich
•
IDIOMS
- be / come a poor second, third, etc.
- the poor man's sb / sth
—more at account noun
••
SYNONYMS
poor
disadvantaged ♦ needy ♦ impoverished ♦ deprived ♦ penniless ♦ poverty-stricken ♦ hard up
These words all describe sb who has very little or no money and therefore cannot satisfy their basic needs.
poor
having very little money; not having enough money for basic needs:
They were too poor to buy shoes for the kids.
disadvantaged
having less money and fewer opportunities than most people in society:
socially disadvantaged sections of the community
needy
poor:
It's a charity that provides help for needy children.
impoverished
( journalism ) poor:
Thousands of impoverished peasants are desperate to move to the cities.
deprived
[usually before noun] without enough food, education, and all the things that are necessary for people to live a happy and comfortable life
poor, needy, impoverished or deprived?
Poor is the most general of these words and can be used to describe yourself, another individual person, people as a group, or a country or an area. Needy is mostly used to describe people considered as a group: it is not used to talk about yourself or individual people:
poor / needy children / families
• They were too needy to buy shoes for the kids. Impoverished is used, especially in journalism, to talk about poor countries and the people who live there. To talk about poor areas in rich countries, use deprived .
penniless
( literary ) having no money; very poor:
He died penniless in Paris.
poverty-stricken
( journalism ) extremely poor:
a poverty-stricken family in 19th-century Brooklyn
hard up
( informal ) having very little money, especially for a short period of time:
I was always hard up as a student.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
poor / disadvantaged / needy / impoverished / deprived / penniless / poverty-stricken / hard up people / families
poor / disadvantaged / needy / impoverished / deprived / poverty-stricken countries / regions / areas
a(n) poor / disadvantaged / impoverished / deprived / poverty-stricken childhood / background
extremely / very poor / disadvantaged / needy / impoverished / hard up
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French poure , from Latin pauper .