pauper

noun

pau·​per ˈpȯ-pər 

1

old-fashioned : a person destitute of means except such as are derived from charity

specifically : one who receives aid from funds designated for the poor

2

old-fashioned : a very poor person

… you'll wind up a pauper on skid row …

—Robert Bixby

pauperism

ˈpȯ-pə-ˌri-zəm 

noun

Examples of pauper in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact many of the characters—even Big Gunna, one of the great larger-than-life paupers of Laxness’s oeuvre—did live in Mosfellsdalur and went by the names Laxness gives them in the book. —Literary Hub, 11 Feb. 2026

Tate eventually moved in with her family, who rejected Austen; Austen moved to the Staten Island Farm Colony, a pauper’s hospital. —Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2025

When the new sections were added, the old burying ground became a pauper's cemetery for poor White and and Black residents. —Alexandria Burris, IndyStar, 14 Nov. 2025

Brian Niccol, the coffee chain boss, is paid a pauper’s sum of nearly $100 million. —Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, poor — more at poor

First Known Use

1516, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pauper

• chopper
• copper
• cropper
• dropper
• popper
• proper
• shopper
• stopper
• topper
• whopper
• eavesdropper
• grasshopper

Kids Definition

pauper

noun

pau·​per ˈpȯ-pər 

: a very poor person

especially : one supported by charity

pauperism

-pə-ˌriz-əm 

noun

pauperize

-ˌrīz

verb

Legal Definition

pauper

noun

pau·​per ˈpȯ-pər 

: a person who is destitute and relying on charity

specifically : a person who is relieved of the costs and expenses of a court proceeding because of poverty