Synonyms

bad trip

American

noun

Slang.

a mentally or physically horrifying drug-taking experience, as one accompanied by nightmarish hallucinations or by physical pain.
a dismayingly unpleasant experience.

He was so ill-prepared that college was a bad trip for him.

bad trip Idioms

A frightening or otherwise very unpleasant experience, as in Given the poor turnout, her book tour was a bad trip. The term comes from drug slang of the mid-1900s, where it meant experiencing hallucinations, pain, or other terrible effects from taking a drug, especially LSD. It was then extended to any extremely unpleasant experience.

Etymology

Origin of bad trip

First recorded in 1965–70

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.

"It wasn't a bad trip at all, because it's worth standing by people even though you don't win every race," Vance told Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" on Monday.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

It was as if this last year of Covid-19, barbed wire and insurrection had simply been one bad trip.

From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2021

He’s either an awoken sleeper-cell secret agent for a Mars-based corporation or just a bored construction worker taking a bad trip at the local virtual vacation shop.

From Washington Times • Dec. 22, 2020

This wasn’t a bad start or a bad trip for Arrogate.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2017

I got some breakfast on deck and it wasn’t a bad trip.

From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson

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