The two most common definitions of poverty currently in use are:

Absolute
Absolute poverty refers to the level of resources needed to sustain physical survival. People are poor if they cannot feed clothe or house themselves and their dependants. It is based on a person's biological needs. This is the most common way in which people visualise poverty.

Relative
Relative poverty is defined in relation to the standards of living in a society at a particular time. People live in poverty when they are denied an income sufficient for their material needs and when these circumstances exclude them from taking part in activities which are an accepted part of daily life in that society.

Poverty Indicators
In Britain the most commonly used indicator of poverty is a household income that is 60% or less of the average (median) household income in that year.

Figures are for 2006/07. In that year, the 60% threshold was worth:
£186 per week for a two adult household,
£108 per week for a single adult,
£301 per week for two adults living with two children,
£223 per week for a single adult living with two children.

These sums of money are measured after income tax, council tax and housing costs have been deducted, where housing costs include rents, mortgage interest, buildings insurance and water charges. The sum of money left over is therefore what the household has available to spend on everything else it needs, from food and heating to travel and entertainment.