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poor

Syllabification: (poor)
Pronunciation: /po͝or, pôr/

Translate poor | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of poor

adjective

  • 1lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society:people who were too poor to afford a telephone (as noun the poor)the gap between the rich and the poor has widened
  • (of a place) inhabited by people without sufficient money:a poor area with run-down movie theaters and overcrowded schools
  • 2worse than is usual, expected, or desirable; of a low or inferior standard or quality:her work was poor many people are eating a very poor diet
  • [predic.] (poor in) deficient or lacking in:the water is poor in nutrients
  • dated used ironically to deprecate something belonging to or offered by oneself:he is, in my poor opinion, a more handsome young man
  • 3 [attributive] (of a person) considered to be deserving of pity or sympathy:they inquired after poor Dorothy’s broken hip

Phrases

(as) poor as a church mouse (or as church mice)

extremely poor.

poor little rich boy (or girl)

a wealthy young person whose money brings them no contentment (often used as an expression of mock sympathy).

the poor man's ——

an inferior or cheaper substitute for the thing specified:corduroy has always been the poor man’s velvet

poor relation

a person or thing that is considered inferior or subordinate to others of the same type or group:for many years radio has been the poor relation of the media

take a poor view of

regard with disfavor or disapproval.

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French poure, from Latin pauper

poor in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of poor in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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Word of the day

leporine

/ ˈlɛpərʌɪn /
adjective
of or resembling a hare or hares …