poverty line

noun

Updated on: 21 Apr 2018

Definition of poverty line

: a level of personal or family income below which one is classified as poor according to governmental standards — called also poverty level

See poverty line defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of poverty line from the Web

The median salary in Bruni is about $50,000, but about 30 percent of the town’s 281 residents -- and more than half of its children -- live below the poverty line.

— sarah garland, NBC News, "Workers are climbing wind turbines to the middle class," 14 Apr. 2018
Ninety-eight percent of these small businesses are minority- or women-owned, 30 percent of the entrepreneurs are recent immigrants, and about 30 percent live below the poverty line.

— Daily Intelligencer, "4 Start-ups Actively Making NYC a Better Place," 7 Apr. 2018
In 2014, the last year it was measured, the island’s GDP per person, at $10,600, was the lowest in the European Union; 84% of its people live below the poverty line.

— The Economist, "France’s leakiest border is in the Indian Ocean," 5 Apr. 2018
Even though the city is 64 percent black, more than one-third of its black residents live below the poverty line, according to a 2017 study from the University of Memphis (pdf).

— michael harriot, The Root, "America Did This: An Open Letter to Memphis, Tenn.," 4 Apr. 2018
But the austerity measures sent prices soaring, exacting a heavy toll on ordinary Egyptians, especially the more than 25 percent living below the poverty line.

— Washington Post, "In Egypt’s election, turnout provides the only suspense," 25 Mar. 2018
Nearly 89 percent of residents are black, and around 43 percent live below the poverty line.

— Chicago Tribune, "RAGE, RIOTS, RUIN," 1 Apr. 2018
But the austerity measures sent prices soaring, exacting a heavy toll on ordinary Egyptians, especially the more than 25 percent living below the poverty line.

— maggie michael, USA TODAY, "Egypt election begins with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi certain winner," 26 Mar. 2018
More than a third of residents living in the school's surrounding neighborhood fall below the poverty line, more than twice the rate of Mesa proper, according to census data.

— lily altavena, azcentral, "Inside a 'D' school: An Arizona junior high grapples with its state letter grade," 22 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'poverty line.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.