badman

[ bad-man ]

noun,plural bad·men.
  1. a bandit, outlaw, desperado, etc., especially in the early history of the western U.S.

Origin of badman

1
An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; bad1 + man

Other definitions for bad man (2 of 2)

bad man

nounOlder Use.
  1. (sometimes initial capital letters) the devil.

  2. the bogeyman.

Origin of bad man

2
An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use badman in a sentence

  • Guiding his mules along the trail, Joe unflinchingly faced the known perils of blizzards, badmen, stampeding buffalo.

    The Lost Wagon | James Arthur Kjelgaard
  • Picking up badmen is no more dangerous here than it would be in New York.

    Free Air | Sinclair Lewis

British Dictionary definitions for badman

badman

/ (ˈbædˌmæn) /


nounplural -men
  1. mainly US a hired gunman, outlaw, or criminal

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012