as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
growing up dirt-poor in the rural South
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dirt-poor
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
My mom grew up with very-not-amicably divorced parents, one of whom (her father) was well-off and the other (her mother, the primary parent) was dirt-poor.
—R29 Team, refinery29.com, 12 Aug. 2024
Like their grandmother, the village girl from Italy’s dirt-poor south who morphed into a sophisticated Parisian muse, the siblings’ identities are hard to pin down.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 3 Aug. 2024
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
My mom grew up with very-not-amicably divorced parents, one of whom (her father) was well-off and the other (her mother, the primary parent) was dirt-poor.
—R29 Team, refinery29.com, 12 Aug. 2024
Like their grandmother, the village girl from Italy’s dirt-poor south who morphed into a sophisticated Parisian muse, the siblings’ identities are hard to pin down.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 3 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dirt-poor
Adjective
-
Pilgrims also threw in coins as offerings, some later retrieved by impoverished people to survive.—
Norma Meyer,
Oc Register,
4 Feb. 2026
-
The penultimate episode saw Deathclaws descending on Freeside, an impoverished community on the fringes of New Vegas.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Policymakers globally are increasingly worried that the unequal adoption of AI risks widening income and development gaps between rich and poor countries.—
Hanna Ziady,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
-
In November, Jesse Jackon was hospitalized again after suffering a fall while protesting poor campus living conditions with students at Howard University.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dirt-poor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dirt-poor. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
