bad

noun

1

: something that is bad

There's more good than bad in him.

Take the good with the bad.

2

: an evil or unhappy state

Things went from bad to worse.

3

: fault sense 2

the mistake was my bad

Synonyms of bad

• evil
• wrong

Examples of bad in a Sentence

There's more good than bad in him.

We need to teach our children the difference between good and bad.

teaching children the difference between the good and the bad

He believes that the good go to heaven when they die and the bad go to hell.

Recent Examples on the Web

Naturally, the meeting is a flop because no one was prepared, and their spontaneous ideas are frankly fireable-offense bad (a baguette bag shaped like a baguette for Paris? —Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2025

In times when the city's bad seems to overshadow the good, Daniels and others like him can be a guidepost for generations to come. —Sophia Tiedge, jsonline.com, 11 Sep. 2025

While working together on The Unit, David Mamet once told you that good drama isn’t a choice between good and bad; good drama is the choice between two bads. —Max Gao, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Jan. 2025

Reports out of fall camp haven’t been super favorable to their offense, and while the defense will, again, be top-notch, a team with this bad of an offense cannot be trusted. —Austin Mock, The Athletic, 19 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English badde, noun derivative of badde bad entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing bad

• a bad crowd
• a good/bad state of repair
• bad actor
• bad apple
• bad blood
• bad boy
• bad breath
• bad cholesterol
• bad connection
• bad credit risk
• bad debt
• bad dream
• bad egg
• bad faith
• bad/good speller
• bad guy
• bad hair day
• bad/ill feelings
• bad language
• bad loan
• bad luck
• bad-mouth
• bad name
• bad news
• bad off
• bad/poor form
• bad/poor loser
• bad practice
• bad seed
• bad-tempered
• bad time
• big bad
• come to a bad end
• do a bad job
• down bad
• feel bad
• from bad to worse
• get off to a good/bad start
• get on his bad side
• give (something) up as a bad job
• go bad
• got it bad
• got off to a good/bad start
• in a bad light
• in a bad way
• in bad faith
• in bad nick
• in poor/bad (etc.) condition
• in someone's bad books
• in (very) bad/poor taste
• keep bad company
• leave a bad taste in someone's mouth
• left a bad taste in my mouth
• make the best of a bad job
• no bad thing
• not a bad thing
• not bad
• not half bad
• on someone's good/bad side
• poor/bad sport
• take the good with the bad
• the bad
• too bad
• with bad/ill grace

Rhymes for bad

• ad
• add
• brad
• cad
• clad
• dad
• fad
• gad
• glad
• grad
• had
• lad

Kids Definition

bad

1 of 3 adjective

ˈbad 

worse ˈwərs  ; worst ˈwərst 

1

a

: below standard : poor

b

: not favorable

a bad impression

c

: rotten sense 1

bad meat

2

: not good or right : morally evil or wrong

a bad person

bad behavior

3

: not enough

bad lighting

4

: disagreeable sense 1, unpleasant

bad news

5

a

: harmful

bad for the health

b

: severe sense 3

a bad cold

6

: incorrect, faulty

bad spelling

7

: ill entry 1 sense 2c, sick

feel bad

8

: sorrowful sense 1, sorry

don't feel bad about losing

badness noun

bad

2 of 3 noun

1

: a bad thing or part

take the bad with the good

2

: a bad or unhappy state

go to the bad

bad

3 of 3 adverb

: badly

not doing so bad

Legal Definition

bad

adjective

: not valid : void

bad notice

especially : not covered by sufficient funds

a bad check