Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - poverty

~ n 1 the situation or experience of being poor  (dire/abject/grinding poverty (=very bad poverty))  (Thousands of children live in dire poverty.) 2 the poverty line/level the income below which a person or a family is officially considered to be very poor and in need of help  (More than 20% of American families now live below the poverty line.) 3 formal a lack of a particular quality + of  (a surprising poverty of imagination)  (- compare poorness)