poor
poor Lexical Profile
poor Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Lacking sufficient money or material possessions to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society.
"The scholarship was established to help students from poor families attend university."
Of a low or inferior standard, quality, or condition.
"Due to poor visibility in the heavy fog, several flights were delayed."
Deserving of pity, sympathy, or commiseration due to misfortune (used exclusively before a noun).
"The poor dog was shivering out in the cold rain before we brought him inside."
Deficient or lacking in a specified resource, substance, or quality.
"Crops struggled to grow in the rocky, nutrient-poor soil."
• noun
People who lack financial resources and material possessions, considered collectively as a social group (usually preceded by 'the').
"The charity operates community kitchens to provide warm meals for the poor."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'poor' with its homophones 'pour' (to cause a liquid to flow) and 'pore' (a tiny opening in the skin, or to study something closely). Note also that in the sympathetic sense ('the poor child'), 'poor' can only be used attributively before a noun, never after a linking verb.
• Rhymes for poor
Word Origin & Etymology
Entered Middle English from Old French 'povre', which derived from Latin 'pauper' (poor, not wealthy), a compound of roots meaning 'producing little' or 'getting little'.