Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - poor

(poorer, poorest) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Someone who is poor has very little money and few possessions. The reason our schools cannot afford better teachers is because people here are poor... He was one of thirteen children from a poor family. ? rich ADJ • The poor are people who are poor. Even the poor have their pride. N-PLURAL: the N 2. The people in a poor country or area have very little money and few possessions. Many countries in the Third World are as poor as they have ever been. ...a settlement house for children in a poor neighborhood. ? rich ADJ 3. You use poor to express your sympathy for someone. I feel sorry for that poor child... Poor chap–he was killed in an air crash... ADJ: ADJ n c darkgreen]feelings 4. If you describe something as poor, you mean that it is of a low quality or standard or that it is in bad condition. The flat was in a poor state of repair... The wine was poor. ADJ • poorly Some are living in poorly built dormitories, even in tents... ADV: ADV -ed, ADV after v 5. If you describe an amount, rate, or number as poor, you mean that it is less than expected or less than is considered reasonable. ...poor wages and working conditions. ADJ • poorly During the first week, the evening meetings were poorly attended... = badly ADV: ADV -ed, ADV after v 6. You use poor to describe someone who is not very skilful in a particular activity. He was a poor actor... Hospitals are poor at collecting information. ADJ: usu ADJ n, also v-link ADJ at -ing/n • poorly That is the fact of Hungarian football–they can play very well or very poorly. ADV: ADV after v 7. If something is poor in a particular quality or substance, it contains very little of the quality or substance. ...soil that is poor in zinc. ADJ: v-link ADJ in n