[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/poor/) [dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [P](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/p/) / poor # poor adjective (poor, poorer, poorest); noun (the poor — poor people as a group) «poor» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova. ## Everyday 1. Poor means having very little money and few things, so that it is hard to pay for food, a home or clothes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/#m1) 2. Poor means not good enough, low in quality: poor work, poor light, poor health. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/#m2) 3. We say «poor» when we feel sorry for someone: «Poor puppy, it is cold.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/#m3) 4. Poor at something means not skilled at it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/#m4) ### In the lessons In everyday life and stories it tells the reader that someone has little money or that something went badly; in stories «poor» before a name shows the narrator feels sorry for that character. In science, «poor» describes weak results: a poor conductor of heat lets little heat through. Common phrases: poor thing, poor health, poor eyesight, poor weather, a poor mark, poor at spelling, the rich and the poor. ### Examples - The family was too poor to buy a car, so they took the bus. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/#x1) - My handwriting is poor when I write too fast. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/#x2) - Poor Max fell off his bike and scraped his knee. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/#x3) - Wood is a poor conductor of heat, so the spoon handle stays cool. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/#x4) - The light was too poor to read by, so I switched on the lamp. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/#x5) - I am poor at catching but good at running. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/#x6) - Charities collect food for poor families at Christmas. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/#x7) - The plants grew badly in the poor, dry soil. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/#x8) - "Poor little fellow!" said Mr. Fitz-war-ren. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/#x9) ### Note Adjective: poor, poorer, poorest. «The poor» means poor people in general and takes a plural verb: «The poor need help.» Do not confuse with «pour» (to tip liquid out) and «pore» (a tiny hole in skin, or to study closely) — they can sound the same. Poor (sorry for) does not mean the person has no money: «Poor Gran has a cold.» Opposite of the money sense: rich; of the quality sense: good. ## In Jewish tradition The Torah commands justice for the poor and also forbids favoring them wrongly in court. Giving to the poor (tzedakah) is a duty, and a poor man's cloak taken as a pledge must be returned by nightfall. **Interpretation.** The rabbis taught that a judge must be fair to rich and poor alike. They taught that tzedakah is not just kindness but a matter of justice. ### Examples - neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause. (Torah EXO.23.3, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/P/poor/#x1) - Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. (Torah EXO.23.6, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/P/poor/#x2) - And if he be a poor man, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge; (Torah DEU.24.12, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/P/poor/#x3) - Both low and high, rich and poor together. (Writings PSA.49.3, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/P/poor/#x4) - The poor useth entreaties; but the rich answereth impudently. (Writings PRO.18.23, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/P/poor/#x5) - So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth. (Writings JOB.5.16, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/P/poor/#x6) ### Note Adjective: poor, poorer, poorest. «The poor» means poor people in general and takes a plural verb: «The poor need help.» Do not confuse with «pour» (to tip liquid out) and «pore» (a tiny hole in skin, or to study closely) — they can sound the same. Poor (sorry for) does not mean the person has no money: «Poor Gran has a cold.» Opposite of the money sense: rich; of the quality sense: good. ## On Mova - [Trees and pragmatics of «poor» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poor/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames. - [«poor» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/poor.html) on Mova free. - [Trees and pragmatics of «poor» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/P/poor/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames. - [«poor» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/poor.html) on Mova free.