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• no-good
  no-good

  adjective

  lacking worth or merit; useless; bad.
• no good
  no good

  Unsatisfactory, inadequate; also, no use. For example, This work is no good; it'll have to be done over, or It's no good complaining since there's nothing we can do, or I tried to appeal to his sense of generosity, but it did no good. [Mid-1800s] Also see come to an end (to no good), def. 2; do any (no) good.

no-good

American  

[noh-good, noh-good] / ˈnoʊˈgʊd, ˈnoʊˌgʊd /

adjective

1. lacking worth or merit; useless; bad.

   This no-good faucet never did work properly. Her no-good brother sold me the car.

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noun

1. a person or thing that is worthless or undependable.

no good Idioms  

1. Unsatisfactory, inadequate; also, no use. For example, This work is no good; it'll have to be done over, or It's no good complaining since there's nothing we can do, or I tried to appeal to his sense of generosity, but it did no good. [Mid-1800s] Also see come to an end (to no good), def. 2; do any (no) good.

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Etymology

Origin of no-good

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

no-good no good

Meanwhile, Pete Hegseth, when confronted by a reporter about Signalgate, claimed Goldberg was a no-good, low-down down mean old snake who’d do anything for fame.

From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2025

A no-good year: Why did the Denver quarterback Russell Wilson endure the worst season of his career?

From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2023

Except she was wrong — because besides the totally, horrible, no-good, rotten ending — the show was PERFECT!

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2023

If you believe you are a terrible, no-good parent, you are not going to feel confident in your parenting skills and will be unmotivated to improve them.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 28, 2022

So when she saw Trotter’s purse with its no-good fastener lying wide open on the bed, inviting her, practically demanding her to look in, she did so.

From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson

That’s a thing we should all have been worried about for the last 45 years, but we stopped worrying about that, like, 30 years ago for no good reason.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

Iran’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad World Cup got a lot better Sunday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026

"I am no good at science but I can draw," Hockney wrote in one exam.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

There is no good reason to withhold the data.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

“Where exactly do I belong? Back in a cage?'' She cackled. “There's no good and bad, Fabien.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton