Examples of dirt-poor in a Sentence
growing up dirt-poor in the rural South
Recent Examples on the Web
Many readers addressed their fan letters not to the author, Betty Smith, but to her main character, Francie Nolan, a dirt-poor tenement child with big dreams.
—
Perri Klass, The New Yorker, 30 Dec. 2024
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
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
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
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.
Perri Klass, The New Yorker, 30 Dec. 2024
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
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
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
Cite this Entry
“Dirt-poor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dirt-poor. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share