bad
1 Americanadjective
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not good in any manner or degree.
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having a wicked or evil character; morally reprehensible.
There is no such thing as a bad boy.
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of poor or inferior quality; defective; deficient.
a bad diamond;
a bad spark plug.
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inadequate or below standard; not satisfactory for use.
bad heating;
Living conditions in some areas are very bad.
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inaccurate, incorrect, or faulty.
a bad guess.
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invalid, unsound, or false.
a bad insurance claim;
bad judgment.
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causing or liable to cause sickness or ill health; injurious or harmful.
Too much sugar is bad for your teeth.
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suffering from sickness, ill health, pain, or injury; sick; ill.
He felt bad from eating the green apples.
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not healthy or in good physical condition; diseased, decayed, or physically weakened.
A bad heart kept him out of the army.
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tainted, spoiled, or rotten, especially to the point of being inedible.
The meat is bad because you left it out of the refrigerator too long.
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having a disastrous or detrimental effect, result, or tendency; unfavorable.
The drought is bad for the farmers.
His sloppy appearance made a bad impression.
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causing or characterized by discomfort, inconvenience, uneasiness, or annoyance; disagreeable; unpleasant.
I had a bad flight to Chicago.
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easily provoked to anger; irascible.
a bad temper.
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cross, irritable, or surly.
If I don't have my morning coffee, I'm in a bad mood all day.
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more uncomfortable, persistent, painful, or dangerous than usual; severe.
a bad attack of asthma.
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causing or resulting in disaster or severe damage or destruction.
a bad flood.
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regretful, contrite, dejected, or upset.
He felt bad about having to leave the children all alone.
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disobedient, naughty, or misbehaving.
If you're bad at school, you'll go to bed without supper.
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disreputable or dishonorable.
He's getting a bad name from changing jobs so often.
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displaying a lack of skill, talent, proficiency, or judgment.
a bad painting;
Bad drivers cause most of the accidents.
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causing distress; unfortunate or unfavorable.
I'm afraid I have bad news for you.
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not suitable or appropriate; disadvantageous or dangerous.
It was a bad day for fishing.
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inclement; considered too stormy, hot, cold, etc..
We had a bad winter with a lot of snow.
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disagreeable or offensive to the senses.
a bad odor.
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exhibiting a lack of artistic sensitivity.
The room was decorated in bad taste.
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not in keeping with a standard of behavior or conduct; coarse.
bad manners.
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(of a word, speech, or writing)
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vulgar, obscene, or blasphemous.
bad language.
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not properly observing rules or customs of grammar, usage, spelling, etc.; incorrect.
He speaks bad English.
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unattractive, especially because of a lack of pleasing proportions.
She has a bad figure.
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(of the complexion) marred by defects; pockmarked or pimply; blemished.
bad skin.
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not profitable or worth the price paid.
The land was a bad buy.
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Commerce. deemed uncollectible or irrecoverable and treated as a loss.
a bad debt.
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ill-spent; wasted.
Don't throw good money after bad money.
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counterfeit; not genuine.
There was a bad ten-dollar bill in with the change.
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having the character of a villain; villainous.
In the movies the good guys always beat the bad guys.
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Sports. failing to land within the in-bounds limits of a court or section of a court; missing the mark; not well aimed.
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Slang. outstandingly excellent; first-rate.
He's a bad man on drums, and the fans love him.
noun
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that which is bad.
You have to take the bad with the good.
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a bad condition, character, or quality.
His health seemed to go from bad to worse.
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(used with a plural verb) Usually the bad evil persons collectively.
The bad are always stirring up trouble.
adverb
idioms
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in a bad way, in severe trouble or distress.
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bad off, in poor or distressed condition or circumstances; destitute: Also badly off.
His family has been pretty bad off since he lost his job.
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go to the bad, to deteriorate physically or morally; go to ruin.
She wept at seeing her son go to the bad.
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too bad, unfortunate or disappointing.
It's too bad that he didn't go to college.
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to the bad, in arrears.
He's $100 to the bad on his debt.
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my bad, my fault! my mistake!
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in bad,
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in trouble or distress.
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in disfavor.
He's in bad with his father-in-law.
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not bad, Also not so bad, not too bad.
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tolerably good; not without merit.
The dinner wasn't bad, but I've had better.
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not difficult.
Once you know geometry, trigonometry isn't bad.
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verb
adjective
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not good; of poor quality; inadequate; inferior
bad workmanship
bad soil
bad light for reading
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(often foll by at) lacking skill or talent; incompetent
a bad painter
bad at sports
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(often foll by for) harmful
bad air
smoking is bad for you
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immoral; evil
a bad life
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naughty; mischievous; disobedient
a bad child
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rotten; decayed; spoiled
a bad egg
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severe; intense
a bad headache
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incorrect; wrong; faulty
bad pronunciation
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ill or in pain (esp in the phrase feel bad )
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regretful, sorry, or upset (esp in the phrase feel bad about )
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unfavourable; distressing
bad news
a bad business
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offensive; unpleasant; disagreeable
bad language
bad temper
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not valid or sound; void
a bad cheque
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not recoverable
a bad debt
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slang good; excellent
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to deteriorate even more
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to putrefy; spoil
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informal
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seriously ill, through sickness or injury
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in trouble of any kind
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See book
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to manage as well as possible in unfavourable circumstances
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informal passable; fair; fairly good
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informal very good
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informal (often used dismissively) regrettable
noun
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unfortunate or unpleasant events collectively (often in the phrase take the bad with the good )
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an immoral or degenerate state (often in the phrase go to the bad )
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the debit side of an account
£200 to the bad
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informal my fault or mistake
adverb
verb
Usage
The adjective bad meaning “unpleasant, unattractive, unfavorable, spoiled, etc.,” is the usual form to follow such copulative verbs as sound, smell, look, and taste: After the rainstorm the water tasted bad. The coach says the locker room smells bad. After the copulative verb feel, the adjective badly in reference to physical or emotional states is also used and is standard, although bad is more common in formal writing: I feel bad from overeating. She felt badly about her friend's misfortune. When the adverbial use is required, badly is standard with all verbs: She reacted badly to the criticism. Bad as an adverb appears mainly in informal contexts: I didn't do too bad on the tests. He wants money so bad it hurts. See also badly, good.
Other Word Forms
- baddish adjective
- badness noun
Etymology
Origin of bad
First recorded in 1200–1250; Middle English badde, bad; origin uncertain; perhaps akin to Old English bæddel “hermaphrodite,” bædling “womanish man”
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.
Not bad for something he quickly bashed out in bulletin format without much forethought, in response to a post a former colleague had written.
From MarketWatch
Most importantly of all, the goal of an actor is to share it, have people see it and have strong, passionate feelings about it — good and sometimes bad.
From Los Angeles Times
Actors who direct get this sort of great luxury of visiting so many sets and watching other directors and learning from them, good and bad things.
From Los Angeles Times
My notebooks, every bad poem I’d ever written, my will and my TV show memorabilia were tucked away in an antique trunk beneath the table upon which sat the books I was currently reading.
From Los Angeles Times
After she was able to start eating again, it still took a full two weeks to recover as she continued to feel extremely tired, suffer from brain fog, and experience bad headaches.
From Salon
Definitions 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.
