having very little money► poor · They were so poor they couldn't afford to buy shoes for their children.· She was born in a poor district of Chicago in 1925.· People who live in poor countries have a much lower life expectancy.· These cuts will hit the poorest members of society.· Some Democrats believed they lost the election because many poor women didn't turn out to vote.dirt poor American (=extremely poor) · Her mother grew up dirt poor among migrant workers in Alabama.
► badly off having less money than most other people: · She was quite badly off for a while after her husband died.· We were pretty poor, but most of our friends were even worse off.· No matter how badly off we were, we never went to bed hungry.
► needy/in need needy people or people who are in need do not have enough money to buy food, clothes etc, and deserve help: · The fund was established to help needy widows whose husbands had died in the war.· More aid should be given to needy families.· All profits from the concert will go to help children in need.
► impoverished formal very poor - use this especially about people or places that were not poor in the past: · His family became so impoverished they were forced to sell the farm.· All there was in the region was dry soil and impoverished villages.
► poverty-stricken written extremely poor, and suffering as a result of this: · At the moment, many poverty-stricken communities are experiencing a shortage of teachers.· His photographs show vividly the lives of poverty-stricken families in the Gorbals area of Glasgow.
► destitute especially written having no money or possessions, and often nowhere to live, especially when there seems to be no possibility of improving the situation: · In 1860 Father Murphy set up a home for orphans and destitute children.· The rest of her family all died in a smallpox epidemic, leaving her destitute.
1 (also bad-off American English) not having much money SYN poor OPP well-off2badly off for something British English not having enough of something that you need OPP well-off: 
The school is rather badly off for equipment.