Definitions

poverty line

NOUN

poverty level

Synonyms

WEAK

bare existence breadline hand-to-mouth existence mere existence pauperism poverty trap subsistence level

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The second store, going up in a section of Southwest Atlanta where roughly a quarter of residents live below the poverty line, could be more of a challenge.

From The Wall Street Journal

That benchmark is the poverty line, created by a Social Security Administration economist, Mollie Orshansky, in 1963, and then adopted the next year by the White House.

From MarketWatch

It stops paying once households hit a certain income level, which is 400% above the federal poverty line.

From MarketWatch

Despite being an oil-rich nation, about a third of Gabon's population lives below the poverty line, according to the UN.

From BBC

“And so it becomes this critical lifeline that keeps families out of deep, deep poverty. It can also be the tipping point that moves some families above the poverty line.”

From BBC