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.
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
Henry’s uncle, Collis P. Huntington, was born dirt poor, but as a rapacious founding partner and then cutthroat president of the Central Pacific Railroad, he became immensely rich.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2019
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
