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.
"The bad news is, we are on track for Permian-Triassic levels of warming in worst-case scenario projections," said Sperling.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
There’s some bad news if you’re thinking about looking abroad instead.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
The outlook for spirits companies in the U.S. is very murky, but the bad news is priced in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
So are the latest announcements good or bad news for the country's shipbuilders - and what's behind them?
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
The bad news was that the river destroyed many of the boundary markers, erasing all of the landmarks that told farmers which land was theirs to cultivate.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
