poverty line
22
2.9
- noun
- /ˈpɑvərti laɪn/
:
línea de pobreza
- Nationally, an average of 19% of all children ages 18 and under fell below the federal poverty line.
- live below the poverty line
- incomes below the poverty line
- federal poverty line
I was probably below the poverty line, but I was secure.
- I was probably below the poverty line, but I was secure.
- They're typically populations that live at or slightly above or below the poverty line.
- And then so you have half of the elderly in South Korea live below the poverty line.
- So you have millions of Americans that live below the poverty line in a first world country, in the richest country in the world.
- And they they're, they say they give stats about black below the poverty line.
Examples
-
Providing employment opportunities to women living below the poverty line in urban Indian cities to empower them.
Blog text (4) -
Between 1/5 and 1/4 of all U.S. children live below the poverty line.
Academic text (1997) -
I grew up below the poverty line and these were very successful.
-
In the country at large, 14 percent are living below the poverty line.
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How can we still be using a poverty line that was set during the Vietnam War?
Blog text (19) -
Many of the people who are working can't make enough to stay above the poverty line.
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In 2008, the federal poverty line was $21,200 total income or less for a family of four.
Academic text (2013) -
In some of the poorest countries, half of all city dwellers live below the poverty line.
Academic text (1998) -
Micronesia is a low-income country where 27% of the people live below the US poverty line.
Academic text (2011) -
In the country at large, 14 percent are living below the poverty line.
Synonyms
16
2.8
The least money a person or family needs to buy basic things like food and a home
1
5.4
The minimum money and goods people need to live, like food and shelter
1
5.4
A low income level where people cannot afford basic needs
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'poverty line' is directly compositional: 'poverty' denotes lacking sufficient resources and 'line' denotes a boundary or threshold, so together they naturally mean the income threshold separating those in poverty from others. The threshold use of 'line' is common in English and across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Poverty line comes from a simple picture: officials would draw a visible line on charts or lists to separate people who had enough money from those who did not. So being 'below the poverty line' means having less than the 'minimum income' considered enough to live.