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Synonyms

go bad

Idioms  

  1. Spoil, decay; also, turn to crime. For example, You can tell from the smell that this milk has gone bad, or If he keeps running around with that street gang, he's sure to go bad. [Late 1800s]

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.

Overall longevity decreases greatly when dealing with chopped or minced garlic, which can go bad within a day, even when stored in the refrigerator.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026

But it carries risks if underlying loans go bad.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Unfortunately, there’s no way to prove that’s the case—or that the good won’t go bad.

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

“Whatever asset you’re looking at people are on a knife’s edge regarding leverage and that doesn’t have to go bad; that can go very very well before it goes very, very bad,” he said.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 18, 2026

She says it can go bad, but all it does is get hard and impossible to spread.

From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya

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.