What does "poor" mean?

1. (having little money) having very little money or few possessions. 2. (low quality) not good; of a low standard. 3. (deserving pity) used to show you feel sorry for someone. 4. (lacking something specific) not having enough of a particular thing, like nutrients or information. 5. (people with no money) people who have very little money, when talked about as a group.

poor — meaning, definition & examples

Q: Is it correct to say "He wants to help the poors."?

No — say "He wants to help the poor.". When 'poor' is used as a noun for a group of people, it is always 'the poor' and never takes an 's'.

Word

01having little money

A1 · Beginner

adj. having very little money or few possessions.

adj. lacking sufficient money or possessions to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society.

“The charity provides food and clothing for poor families in the city.”

“The government introduced new subsidies to support poor households struggling with the rising costs of heating and electricity.”

Synonyms

impoverished penniless broke

Antonyms

rich wealthy affluent

02low quality

A2 · Elementary

adj. not good; of a low standard.

adj. of a low standard or inferior quality; lacking in skill or ability.

“He failed the exam because of his poor study habits.”

“The bridge was closed indefinitely after engineers discovered it had been constructed with poor materials that were now failing.”

Synonyms

bad inferior substandard

Antonyms

excellent superior good

03deserving pity

B1 · Intermediate

adj. used to show you feel sorry for someone.

adj. deserving of pity or sympathy; used to express compassion for someone's misfortune.

“That poor dog has been waiting in the rain for hours.”

“The poor man lost everything in the fire, leaving him with nothing but the clothes he was wearing at the time.”

Synonyms

unfortunatepitiableunlucky

04lacking something specific

B2 · Upper Intermediate

adj. not having enough of a particular thing, like nutrients or information.

adj. deficient in a specific substance, quality, or ingredient.

“The soil in this area is very poor in minerals, so plants don't grow well.”

“The report was criticised for being poor in detail, failing to provide the specific data points required for a thorough analysis.”

Synonyms

deficient lacking sparse

Antonyms

rich abundant

05people with no money

B1 · Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. people who have very little money, when talked about as a group.

n. a collective noun referring to people who live in poverty. Always used with the definite article 'the'.

“The new law aims to provide better healthcare for the poor.”

“The gap between the rich and the poor has widened significantly over the last decade, leading to increased social tension.”

Pitfall

He wants to help the poors.

He wants to help the poor.

When 'poor' is used as a noun for a group of people, it is always 'the poor' and never takes an 's'.

Synonyms

the needythe impoverished

Antonyms

the richthe wealthy

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “poor” in context.

01. poor conditions 02. poor health 03. poor quality 04. poor run 05. poor start 06. concurrent poor 07. perform poor 08. poor management

“In Argentina's poor barrios a food emergency is taking hold as poverty rises, with malnutrition on the increase and medics treating children for eye diseases and even scurvy linked to a vitamin-deficient diet.”

Reuters 1 Oct 2024

Inherited from Middle English povre, povere, from Old French (and Anglo-Norman) povre, poure, from Latin pauper, from Old Latin pavo-pars (literally “getting little”), from Proto-Indo-European peh₂w- (“few, small”). Doublet of pauper. Displaced native arm, wantsome, Middle English unlede (“poor”) (from Old English unlǣde), Middle English unweli, unwely (“poor, unwealthy”) (from Old English un- + weliġ (“well-to-do, prosperous, rich”)).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

ADJECTIVE

poor(A1)

ADVERB

poorly(B1)

few pauper