dirt poor
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.
“We were dirt poor, had big Scottish accents at the time, a family of six siblings, and then coming to very conventional suburban schools,” he said, the memory eliciting a wild-card smile.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
He had grown up dirt poor in what is now South Korea, then occupied by Japan.
From Science Magazine ● May 3, 2023
“When I grew up dirt poor, museums were not for me,” said Eggers, who has been with the Burke for seven years now.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 9, 2022
Lucy grew up dirt poor and suffered a lot from her parents’ bad choices, so being an intelligent person she has always been very savvy about saving and cautious about spending.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2022
Ancient farmers might seem to us dirt poor, but a typical family possessed more artefacts than an entire forager tribe.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
