bad off

Idioms

Also, badly off. In unfortunate circumstances, poor. For example, Her husband's death left her bad off, or She had her pension and wasn't too badly off. The first term is colloquial. [Early 1800s] Also see well off.

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.

“Poor people are as bad off as in the special period, but a segment of middle and upper class have access to dollars and are not in such bad shape, which causes real social tension.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

Farrell - whose kicking accuracy is 44.3% across the 2023 Six Nations - conceded: "I was bad off the tee today."

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2023

Despite the bracing expectations, Britain may not be as bad off as some countries.

From New York Times • Jul. 14, 2022

While mine is still high, and I’m not as bad off as many former players, I still lost something.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2021

And cheerleaders aren’t too bad off either, but down here, the females who reign supreme are beauty queens.

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023