as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
growing up dirt-poor in the rural South
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Recent Examples of dirt-poor
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
But the Shoutin’, Rick Bragg’s first family memoir about growing up dirt-poor in Alabama.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
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
Roberta Ceretto’s grandfather Riccardo moved to Alba in the 1930s from a dirt-poor village in the high Langhe and found work with a local wine producer.
—Lee Marshall, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Mar. 2022
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
But the Shoutin’, Rick Bragg’s first family memoir about growing up dirt-poor in Alabama.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
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
Roberta Ceretto’s grandfather Riccardo moved to Alba in the 1930s from a dirt-poor village in the high Langhe and found work with a local wine producer.
—Lee Marshall, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Mar. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dirt-poor
Adjective
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Rural Cuba was profoundly impoverished and underdeveloped before and during the Batista era, and land ownership was scant among the working poor.—
Max Saltman,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
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So much for bringing the experience of art to culturally impoverished Butte.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Adjective
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Common travel regrets stem from preventable issues like poor planning, budget problems, and choosing the wrong companions.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
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O’Farrell’s inclination for narratives propelled by brutal coincidence and fatally poor timing tenders a Hardy-esque vision of the world, one that emphasizes the rigid, often cruel limits of an individual’s jurisdiction over the course of their life.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
Vulture,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dirt-poor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dirt-poor. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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