no-good

[noh-good, noh-good]

adjective

1. lacking worth or merit; useless; bad.

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

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of no-good¹

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

The Black Panther Party is a place where a furious Black man bellows at him about stuff while Jenny’s no-good boyfriend punches her.

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“You no-good children, come back here right this instant!” she hollered.

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

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

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His character is a peevish no-good who shoots people and kicks bear cubs.

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