Definition of poor
1a : lacking material possessionsb : of, relating to, or characterized by poverty
2a : less than adequate : meagerb : small in worth
3 : exciting pity you poor thing
4a : inferior in quality or valueb : humble, unpretentiousc : mean, petty
6 : barren, unproductive —used of land
7 : indifferent, unfavorable
8 : lacking a normal or adequate supply of something specified —often used in combination oil-poor countries
poorness
nounFrom the M-W Editors
Examples of poor in a Sentence
We were too poor to buy new clothes.
The organization helps poor families.
She has a poor vocabulary.
It was a poor attempt at a joke.
He is in poor condition.
She couldn't read the sign because her vision was too poor.
Recent Examples of poor from the Web
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Many of the latter were poor relatives who had fallen on hard times.
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For a small and relatively poor country, that was, indeed, a distant and ambitious goal.
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His country, which relies on low taxes and cheap production costs to retain manufacturers, remains the bloc’s poorest.
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Poor turnout was blamed for Gallo’s counter-intuitive victory, a common complaint in Latino neighborhoods where voter registration can be relatively low for any number of reasons.
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Many in the party attribute the ANC’s poor performance in local elections last year to scandals surrounding the president and want to shore up their popularity ahead of national elections in 2019.
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In 2000, Betts was ousted from the band via fax for alleged substance abuse and poor performance and he hasn't played with the band since.
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The culture of hand-washing in certain destinations is very poor.
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For years, the Yankees had a poor record of player development —
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'poor'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
POOR Defined for English Language Learners
poor
playDefinition of poor for English Language Learners
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: having little money or few possessions : not having enough money for the basic things that people need to live properly
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: having a very small amount of something
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: not good in quality or condition
POOR Defined for Kids
poor
playDefinition of poor for Students
poorer
;poorest
1 : having little money or few possessions
2 : less than enough a poor crop
3 : worthy of pity The poor dog was lost.
4 : low in quality or condition poor health a poor effort
poorly
adverbLearn More about poor
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for poor Spanish Central: Translation of poor Nglish: Translation of poor for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of poor for Arabic speakers
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