Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

poor

Pronunciation: /pɔː, pʊə/
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:they were too poor to afford a telephone (as plural noun the poor)the gap between the rich and the poor has widened
  • (of a place) inhabited by people with little money:the world’s poorest countries
  • 2of a low or inferior standard or quality:many people are eating a very poor diet her work was poor
  • (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) deserving of pity or sympathy:they enquired after poor Dorothy’s broken hip

Phrases

(as) poor as a church mouse

extremely poor.

poor little rich boy (or girl)

a wealthy young person whose money brings them no contentment.

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 disapproval: Heraclitus took a poor view of popular religion

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French poure, from Latin pauper

poor in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of poor in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite
Oxford Dictionaries Pro

For Oxford's best resources for writers, plus thesaurus, audio, and 1.9m examples.

GET PRO ►

Shop for an Oxford dictionary
Find the perfect Oxford dictionary for you in our online shop.
SHOP NOW ►

Word of the day

monocular

/ məˈnɒkjʊlə /
adjective , noun
with, for, or in one eye …