the poverty line
noun
: the level of income that makes it possible for a person to pay for basic food, clothing, and shelter
families living below/at the poverty line
Examples of the poverty line in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Nearly 60% of Haitians live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank, and today at least 5.5 million are in need of humanitarian assistance.
—
Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2024
The workers are often women, immigrants and people of color; many live below the poverty line.
—Mansee Khurana, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024
While nearly half of Guyanese still live below the poverty line, the country is bustling with possibility, and newcomers arrive from around the world.
—Gaiutra Bahadur Keisha Scarville, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
That's below the poverty line for a family of four in California.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2024
The typical retiree on Social Security receives $22,800 annually from the program — above the poverty line, but hardly enough to fund a cushy retirement.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 20 Mar. 2024
The small number of metrics that do exist (e.g. the poverty line) are often poorly defined.
—Laurie Winkless, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
More than 15% of its people live below the poverty line.
—Sugam Pokharel, CNN, 11 Feb. 2024
According to a new analysis, more than 80% of these children — about 16 million children — would benefit from the proposal in the first year, lifting as many as 400,000 children above the poverty line.
—Ben Hoffman, STAT, 26 Jan. 2024
Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2024
The workers are often women, immigrants and people of color; many live below the poverty line.
—Mansee Khurana, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024
While nearly half of Guyanese still live below the poverty line, the country is bustling with possibility, and newcomers arrive from around the world.
—Gaiutra Bahadur Keisha Scarville, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
That's below the poverty line for a family of four in California.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2024
The typical retiree on Social Security receives $22,800 annually from the program — above the poverty line, but hardly enough to fund a cushy retirement.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 20 Mar. 2024
The small number of metrics that do exist (e.g. the poverty line) are often poorly defined.
—Laurie Winkless, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
More than 15% of its people live below the poverty line.
—Sugam Pokharel, CNN, 11 Feb. 2024
According to a new analysis, more than 80% of these children — about 16 million children — would benefit from the proposal in the first year, lifting as many as 400,000 children above the poverty line.
—Ben Hoffman, STAT, 26 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the poverty line.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near the poverty line
Cite this Entry
“The poverty line.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20poverty%20line. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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