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

Potential officers who want to do good work in the community might not apply, while those few bad apples who abuse their authority might be more inclined to do so. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 29 June 2024

Importantly, the Southern Center never accepted the Supreme Court’s assumption that racial disparities were caused by bad apples, but insisted that an overlapping set of practices led to injustice. —Robert L. Tsai / Made By History, TIME, 28 June 2024

To focus on a few bad apples and ignore the sacrifices of the many in uniform presents a biased and unfair characterization of law enforcement. —Washington Post, 26 June 2024

Wrongful shootings tend to stem from policies and practices, Thacher said, rather than malicious actions by individual bad apples. —Violet Ikonomova, Detroit Free Press, 21 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above