bad news
Americannoun
noun
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An unwelcome thing or person, trouble. For example, That fire was bad news; we were underinsured for the damage , or No one wants Mary on the board—she's bad news . This term transfers literal bad news—the report of an unhappy recent event—to an unwanted or undesirable individual or circumstance. [ Slang ; 1920s]
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The amount charged for something, as in Waiter, bring our check—I want to see the bad news . [ Slang ; 1920s]
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.
Investors’ positivity Monday was enough to withstand bad news for tech heavyweight Nvidia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
The WSJ’s Ryan Dezember writes that bad news started to pile up for the Sandy Springs, Ga., company a year ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
"If you put something containing cadmium in your mouth, or indeed if you swallow it, that is really bad news," he says.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
The bad news was that he would have only four lines and his character wouldn’t have a name.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
This was bad news, indeed, and all were weeping when they left Circe’s isle and turned their prow toward Erebus where Hades rules with awesome Persephone.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
