poor

/pʊr/

/pɔ/

Other forms: poorer; poorest

Poor describes having little of something. If you lack needed food and shelter, you're poor, and if you fall below a standard or don't even try, you're giving a poor performance. Empty pockets and empty efforts both mean poor.

Rich or wealthy often serve as opposites of poor. If you have material things, you're rich, and if you don't, you're poor. You can be full of knowledge but get poor grades if you're not studying, or you might be poor in terms of money but rich in friends and kindness. Poor can also be used as a noun, as in "Charity is aimed at helping the poor."

Definitions of poor

1. adjective

   having little money or few possessions
   “deplored the gap between rich and poor countries”

   “the proverbial poor artist living in a garret”

   synonyms:

   underprivileged

   lacking the rights and advantages of other members of society

   broke, bust, skint, stone-broke, stony-broke

   lacking funds

   destitute, impoverished, indigent, necessitous, needy, poverty-stricken

   poor enough to need help from others

   hard up, impecunious, in straitened circumstances, penniless, penurious, pinched

   not having enough money to pay for necessities

   moneyless

   having no money

   unprovided for

   without income or means

   antonyms:

   rich

   possessing material wealth

   abundant, aplenty

   present in great quantity

   privileged

   blessed with privileges

   affluent, flush, loaded, moneyed, wealthy

   having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value

   comfortable, easy, prosperous, well-fixed, well-heeled, well-off, well-situated, well-to-do

   in fortunate circumstances financially; moderately rich
2. adjective

   characterized by or indicating poverty
   “the country had a poor economy”

   “they lived in the poor section of town”

   synonyms:

   beggarly, mean

   marked by poverty befitting a beggar

   slummy

   (of housing or residential areas) indicative of poverty

   antonyms:

   rich

   suggestive of or characterized by great expense

   deluxe, gilded, grand, luxurious, opulent, princely, sumptuous

   rich and superior in quality

   extravagant, lavish, lucullan, lush, plush, plushy

   characterized by extravagance and profusion
3. adjective

   lacking in specific resources, qualities or substances
   “a poor land”

   “the area was poor in timber and coal”

   “food poor in nutritive value”

   synonyms:

   resourceless

   lacking or deficient in natural resources

   antonyms:

   rich

   having an abundant supply of desirable qualities or substances (especially natural resources)
4. adjective

   not sufficient to meet a need
   “a poor salary”

   synonyms: inadequate, short

   deficient, insufficient

   of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement
5. adjective

   unsatisfactory
   “a poor light for reading”

   “poor morale”

   “expectations were poor”

   synonyms:

   bad

   having undesirable or negative qualities
6. noun

   people without possessions or wealth (considered as a group)
   “the urban poor need assistance”

   synonyms: poor people

   antonyms:

   rich

   people who have possessions and wealth (considered as a group)

   types:

   homeless

   poor people who unfortunately do not have a home to live in

   needy

   needy people collectively

   type of:

   people

   (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
7. adjective

   deserving or inciting pity
   “Oh, you poor thing”

   “his poor distorted limbs”

   synonyms: hapless, miserable, misfortunate, pathetic, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, wretched

   unfortunate

   not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune