poor

poor
poor S1 W1 /pɔː $ pʊr/ adjective (comparative poorer, superlative poorest)1.  NO MONEY
  a. having very little money and not many possessions
   OPP  rich:
    Her family were so poor they couldn’t afford to buy her new clothes.
    an area where poor people lived
    one of the poorest countries in the world
    a poor part of Chicago (=where a lot of poor people live)
    My grandparents grew up dirt poor (=very poor).
    desperately/extremely poor
    Many of the families are desperately poor.
  b. the poor [plural] people who are poor:
    It’s the government’s responsibility to help the poor.
    the rural/urban/working poor
    tax relief for the working poor
2.  NOT GOOD not as good as it could be or should be:
    The soil in this area is very poor.
    poor rates of pay
    He blames himself for the team’s poor performance.
    of poor quality (=not made well or not made of good materials)
    The jacket was of very poor quality.
    poor hearing/eyesight/memory
    Her hearing is poor, so speak fairly loudly.
    make/do a poor job of doing something
    The builders did a really poor job of fixing our roof.
3.  SYMPATHY  [only before noun] spoken used to show sympathy for someone because they are so unlucky, unhappy etc:
    Poor kid, he’s had a rough day.
    You poor thing, you’ve had a hard time of it, haven’t you?
    Poor old Ted was sick for weeks.
4.  NOT GOOD AT SOMETHING not good at doing something:
    a poor public speaker
    poor at
    He’s poor at sports.
5.  HEALTH someone whose health is poor is ill or weak for a long period of time:
    My parents are both in rather poor health.
6. poor in something lacking something that is needed:
    The country is poor in natural resources.
7. a poor second/third etc the act of finishing a race, competition etc a long way behind the person ahead of you:
    McLean won easily, and Benson was a poor second.
    come (in) a poor second/third etc British English:
    The Socialists came a poor second with 26.5% of the vote.
8. the poor man’s somebody used to say that someone is like a very famous performer, writer etc but is not as good as they are:
    He was the poor man’s Elvis Presley.
9. the poor man’s something used to say that something can be used for the same purpose as something else, and is much cheaper:
    Herring is the poor man’s salmon.
10. poor relation British English someone or something that is not treated as well as other members of a group or is much less successful than they are
    poor relation of
    Theatre musicians tend to be the poor relations of the musical profession.
⇨ be in bad/poor taste at taste¹(6), ⇨ poorly
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ adverbs
   ▪ extremely poor His parents were extremely poor.
   ▪ desperately poor (=so poor that it causes great suffering) Half the population remains desperately poor.
   ▪ dirt poor American English informal (=extremely poor) We were dirt poor back then.
■ adjectives
   ▪ the rural poor (=poor people who live in the countryside) Difficult economic conditions have driven millions of the rural poor to cities.
   ▪ the urban poor (=poor people who live in towns and cities) The condition of the urban poor could no longer be ignored.
   ▪ the working poor (=poor people who have jobs, rather than unemployed people) These tax-cut proposals are targeted at the working poor.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ poor having very little money and not many possessions – used about people or places: Many families were too poor to pay for education. | poor countries
   ▪ hard up/broke (also skint British English) [not before noun] informal having very little money, especially for a short period of time. Skint is more informal than the other words: I’m a bit hard up at the moment | We were so broke we couldn’t afford to go out to the cinema.
   ▪ developing [only before noun] a developing country is poor and has very little industry: The disease is found mainly in developing countries. | the developing world
   ▪ deprived [usually before noun] much poorer than other people in a country, and not having the things that are necessary for a comfortable or happy life – used about people and areas: The charity works with deprived children in the inner city. | one of the most deprived areas of London
   ▪ disadvantaged especially written used about groups of people in society who have much less chance of being successful because they are poor: An increase in the minimum wage would help the most disadvantaged Americans.
   ▪ needy having very little money, and so needing help – used about groups of people: More help should be given to needy families. | We offer scholarships for needy students.
   ▪ destitute especially written having no money or possessions and nowhere to live – used when someone is in a very bad situation: Her family was left destitute after her father died. | destitute refugees
   ▪ impoverished formal impoverished people and places are very poor: out-of-work miners and their impoverished families | The children come from impoverished neighbourhoods. | one of the world’s most impoverished countries
   ▪ poverty-stricken written extremely poor: poverty-stricken areas | They were left poverty-stricken.
   ▪ penniless especially literary having no money: She died penniless. | a penniless student
■ COLLOCATIONS CHECK
   ▪ deprived area/children/homes/background
   ▪ disadvantaged groups/children/students/background
   ▪ needy children/students/families
   ▪ impoverished families/areas/countries
   ▪ poverty-stricken areas/countries/people