bad apple

noun

plural bad apples

: someone who creates problems or causes trouble for others

They'll look for telltale signs that your broker's a bad apple: too much trading … or investments that are clearly too risky for someone like you.

—Daniel McGinn

often, specifically : a member of a group whose behavior reflects poorly on or negatively affects or influences the remainder of the group

As in many industries, this could well be a case of a few bad apples tarnishing the reputation of the rest.

—Ian Giles

One bad apple in the bunch can destroy the cohesiveness of the team.

—Do-It-Yourself Retailing

… that individual brings down the rest of the team. This is the "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch" theory in action.

—Shep Hyken

Most people will be able to recall a situation where the bad mood or negative attitude of a colleague affected their workplace. As the saying goes, one bad apple spoils the whole damn bunch.

—Rebecca Jordan

Examples of bad apple in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The aim is to create a healthier, fairer and professional work environment, because one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. —Nancy Pulciano, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2025

Besides, if one bad apple can spoil the whole barrel, then just imagine the good that Maria could do by removing it from the rest of the bunch. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025

Think of it as the difference between one bad apple versus one bad barrel. —Lindsay Kohler, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025

These quizzes have also proved to weed out some bad apples; two in three employers say having skills tests in their hiring process has reduced the number of mis-hires, according to the TestGorilla report. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bad apple

• appal
• chapel
• dapple
• grapple
• pineapple