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.
However, more bad news from inflation in October could change things quickly, he added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The bad news was that he would have only four lines and his character wouldn’t have a name.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
AI stocks have been hit by worries about Anthropic's IPO but it isn't all bad news.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
When something stops going down on bad news, that means too much negativity is embedded in the price.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
As is so often the case, there was both good news and bad news to report.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
