: suffering extreme poverty

Examples of dirt-poor in a Sentence

growing up dirt-poor in the rural South
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Shot in a single take, Night Shift tells the story of a desperate and dirt-poor Khun (played by Chatchai), who decides to pack things up to have a better life in the city. Sara Merican, Deadline, 31 Oct. 2024 When Nitish Kumar became chief minister of the dirt-poor Indian state of Bihar in 2005, kidnapping was said to be the leading industry in the capital city of Patna. Ruchir Sharma, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2013 My mom grew up with very-not-amicably divorced parents, one of whom (her father) was well-off and the other (her mother, the primary parent) was dirt-poor. R29 Team, refinery29.com, 12 Aug. 2024 Like their grandmother, the village girl from Italy’s dirt-poor south who morphed into a sophisticated Parisian muse, the siblings’ identities are hard to pin down. Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 3 Aug. 2024 However, through decades of hard work, focus and persistence, the dirt-poor farm laborer became a space traveler. Contributing Writer, Orange County Register, 23 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dirt-poor was in 1937

Dictionary Entries Near dirt-poor

Cite this Entry

“Dirt-poor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dirt-poor. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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