Definition of Poverty Line
(noun) The minimum level of income determined per locality to remain above a state of poverty.
Example of Poverty Line
- According to the United States Department of Health & Human Services in 2013, the poverty line for an individual is $13,230 and for a family or household of four $27,090 (Source: 2013 Poverty Guidelines).
Poverty Line Pronunciation
Syllabification: pov·er·ty line
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /pAHv-uhr-tee lIEn/
- British English – /pOv-uh-tee lIEn/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈpɑvərti laɪn/
- British English – /ˈpɒvəti laɪn/
Usage Notes
- Plural: poverty lines
- The term was popularized by Charles Booth (1840–1916).
- Also called:
- poverty level
- poverty threshold
Related Video
Additional Information
- Word origin of “poverty” and “line” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Bernstein, Jared. 2001. Let the War on the Poverty Line Commence. New York: Foundation for Child Development.
- Capponi, Pat. 1997. Dispatches from the Poverty Line. Toronto: Penguin.
- Gillie, Alan. 1996. “The Origin of the Poverty Line.” The Economic History Review 49(4):715–30. doi:10.2307/2597970.
- Landes, David S. 1998. The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some are So Rich and Some So Poor. New York: Norton.
- Osberg, Lars. 1991. Economic Inequality and Poverty: International Perspectives. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
- Rank, Mark R. 2004. One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Ray, Debraj. 1998. Development Economics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation – “Relative or Absolute – The Behavior of Poverty Lines Over Time”: hhs.gov
- United States Department of Health and Human Services – Poverty Guidelines, Research, and Measurement: hhs.gov
Related Terms
Works Consulted
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Turner, Bryan S., ed. 2006. The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Cite the Definition of Poverty Line
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “poverty line.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 28, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/poverty-line/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
poverty line. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/poverty-line/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “poverty line.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 28, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/poverty-line/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“poverty line.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/poverty-line/>.