dirt-poor

adjective

ˈdərt-ˈpu̇r 

: suffering extreme poverty

Synonyms of dirt-poor

• impoverished
• poor

Examples of dirt-poor in a Sentence

growing up dirt-poor in the rural South

Recent Examples on the Web

Cut to 1981, in a dirt-poor neighbourhood of Santiago de Chile, an adolescent Carlos gets his sneakers stolen by another kid, Clavo. — John Hopewell, Variety, 17 Feb. 2026

The company was born from the will of a man who grew up dirt-poor in Baltimore, flunked fifth grade, served in Vietnam and became a billionaire. — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Jan. 2026

Think of him as a dirt-poor man’s Brett Favre. — Vic Tafur, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026

The tough, ingenious (and dirt-poor) Houthis, protected by Yemen’s mountainous interior, fought back with the tenacity of drug-resistant microbes. — Seth Harp, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dirt-poor

• amour
• grandeur
• hauteur
• velour
• voyeur
• doer
• poor
• poore
• raconteur