poor

adjective
UK: /pʊər/
US: /pʊr/

  1. Having very little money; not having enough money for basic needs.

    1. They are a very poor family and need help. [ ] [ ]
    2. Many people are becoming poor because the cost of living is increasing so fast. [ ] [ ]

  2. Of low quality or standard; not good.

    1. The food was poor, I didn't enjoy it. [ ] [ ]
    2. The company reported poor sales figures for the last financial quarter. [ ] [ ]

  3. Unfortunate; deserving sympathy.

    1. Oh, you poor thing, you must be exhausted. [ ] [ ]
    2. The poor man lost his job and now doesn't know how to pay his bills. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

needy unfortunate substandard impoverished pitiful bad inferior
poor interjection

  1. Used to express sympathy or regret.

    1. Poor John, he missed the bus again. [ ] [ ]
    2. Poor you, having to work such long hours every single day. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "poor" in English means: Having very little money; not having enough money for basic needs., Of low quality or standard; not good., Unfortunate; deserving sympathy..

The phonetic transcription of "poor" is /pʊər/ in British English and /pʊr/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "poor": needy, unfortunate, substandard, impoverished, pitiful, bad, inferior.

Example usage of "poor": "They are a very poor family and need help.". More examples on the page.