bad
Pronunciation: /bad/
adjective ( worse /wəːs/, worst /wəːst/)
- 1of poor quality or a low standard: a bad diet bad eyesight
- not able to do a particular thing well: I’m so bad at names a bad listener
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- 2not such as to be hoped for or desired; unpleasant or unwelcome: bad news it was the worst day of his life bad luck
- (of something causing pain, danger, or other unwelcome consequences) severe or serious: bad headaches a bad crash
- unfavourable; adverse: bad reviews
- (bad for) having a harmful effect on: soap was bad for his face
- 3lacking or failing to conform to moral virtue: the bad guys bad behaviour
- (of language) using words generally considered offensive.
- 4(of a part of the body) injured, diseased, or painful: a bad back
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- 5(of food) decayed; putrid: everything in the fridge went bad
- (of the atmosphere) polluted; unhealthy: bad air
Phrases
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a bad penny always turns up
- see penny
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a bad workman always blames his tools
- see workman
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come to a bad end
- see end
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from bad to worse
- into an even worse state: the country’s going from bad to worse
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in a bad way
- ill or in trouble.
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my bad
- North American informal used to acknowledge responsibility for a mistake: Sorry I lost your CD. It’s my bad
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not (or not so) bad
- informal fairly good: she discovered he wasn’t so bad after all
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to the bad
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too bad
- informal used to indicate that something is regrettable but is now beyond retrieval: too bad, but that’s the way it is
Origin:
Middle English: perhaps from Old English bǣddel 'hermaphrodite, womanish man'