From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbadbad1 /bæd/ ●●● S1 W1 adjective (comparative worse /wɜːs $ wɜːrs/, superlative worst /wɜːst $ wɜːrst/) 1 not goodHARMFULUNPLEASANT unpleasant or likely to cause problems OPP good I have some bad news for you. I thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse. The plane was delayed for several hours by bad weather. It’s difficult to break bad habits. a bad smell2 low qualityLOW QUALITYBAD low in quality or below an acceptable standard OPP good The failure of the company was due to bad management. Your handwriting is so bad I can hardly read it. That was the worst movie I’ve ever seen.3 not sensible [usually before noun] not sensible, or not suitable in a particular situation OPP good Cutting spending at this time is a bad idea. Making big changes in your diet all at once is a bad thing to do.4 morally wrongWRONGBAD PERSON morally wrong or evil OPP good He’s a bad man – keep away from him. → bad guy5 wrong behaviourBAD PERSON spoken doing something you should not do, or behaving in a wrong way – used especially about children or pets SYN naughty Katie was very bad today!bad girl/dog etc Bad cat! Get off the table!6 seriousSERIOUSSERIOUS SITUATION serious or severe He was in a bad accident. The pain in my side is worse than it was yesterday. 7 → a bad time/moment etc8 harmfulHARM/BE BAD FOR damaging or harmful Pollution is having a bad effect on fish stocks.bad for Smoking is bad for your health. Too much salt can be bad for you. It is bad for kids to be on their own so much.9 foodFOODDFDECAY food that is bad is not safe to eat because it has decayed bad fish This milk has gone bad.10 no skillBAD AT having no skill or ability in a particular activitybad at (doing) something I’m really bad at chess. They have got to be the worst band on the planet.11 → bad heart/leg/back etc12 languageSWEARINGSWEAR bad language is rude or offensive We were shocked to hear the little boy using bad language in front of his mother. Jacky said a bad word!13 → be in a bad mood14 → feel bad15 → not bad16 → not too/so bad17 → too bad18 → go from bad to worse19 → be in a bad way20 → a bad name21 → bad lot/sort/type22 → bad penny23 → be taken bad24 → in bad faith25 → bad news26 → bad form27 → bad blood28 → not have a bad word to say about/against somebody29 → it’s bad enough ...30 → something can’t be bad31 (comparative badder, superlative baddest) spoken informal especially American English a) used when you think something is very good Now that’s a bad car! b) someone who is bad is very determined and does not always obey rules – used to show approval —badness noun [uncountable]THESAURUSbad not gooda bad ideaHis behaviour is getting worse.poor not as good as it could be or should beA poor diet can lead to ill health.his poor performance at schoolnot very good not good – often used instead of saying directly that something was ‘bad’, especially when you were disappointed by itThe film wasn’t very good.disappointing not as good as you hoped or expectedHer exam results were disappointing.a disappointing start to the campaignnegative bad – used when talking about the bad result or effect of somethingAll the publicity had a negative impact on sales.the negative effects of climate changeundesirable formal bad and not wantedThe policy had some undesirable consequences.drug abuse and other undesirable behaviourunfavourable formal unfavourable conditions are not good for doing somethingThe boat race was cancelled because of unfavourable weather.very badawful/terrible/dreadful especially British English very badThe movie was awful.Her house is in a terrible state.a dreadful crimehorrible very bad, especially in a way that shocks or upsets youHe describes prison as ‘a horrible place’.It was a horrible experience.disgusting smelling or tasting very badThe food was disgusting.The fish smelled disgusting.lousy /ˈlaʊzi/ informal very bad or disappointingThe weather has been lousy all week.I’m fed up with this lousy job.ghastly /ˈɡɑːstli $ ˈɡæstli/ British English informal very badI’ve had a ghastly day. a ghastly mistake severe severe problems, injuries, illnesses etc are very bad and seriousThe country faces severe economic problems.severe delaysHe suffered severe head injuries in a car crash.atrocious/appalling/horrendous extremely bad in a way that is shockingHer behaviour has been absolutely atrocious.The country has an appalling human rights record.abysmal /əˈbɪzməl/ very bad and of a very low standardThe team’s performance was abysmal.the abysmal conditions in some prisons
Examples from the Corpus
bad• bad apples• I was always really bad at French!• I'm very bad at remembering people's names.• It's the worst book she's ever written.• Bad cat! Get off the table!• Did you have a bad day at work?• This was often a direct consequence of bad diet: too much matooke and nothing else.• He's the worst driver I've ever seen.• Frank had a bad flu before Christmas.• In most movies, the bad guy gets caught in the end.• He plays one of the bad guys in the movie.• bad housing conditions• He had a bad influence on his younger brother.• a book full of bad language• A sweetheart, this little lady, not bad legs either.• bad management• But the fuel crisis was not all bad news for riders.• I'm afraid I have some bad news.• But when the cable came it was bad news.• The sharpest rise in shop sales for almost 12 years encouraged hopes that the worst of the recession is over.• In the 1980s, their cars had a bad reputation for reliability.• Critics blame the students' poor test performances on bad teaching.• Is there any crime worse than murdering a child?• He had an especially bad time at boarding school.• If the weather's bad, we could go to the museum instead.• The first, last year, was canceled because of bad weather.• But you were bad with your eyes all the same, I remember you were in a darkened room for days.bad thing to do• The worst thing to do is to try to make big changes all at once.bad girl/dog etc• I love that she is the bad girl.• They were all thieves and bad girls.• You, for one, you bad girl.• Jen had been a bad girl as a kid and probably seemed to him to be straightening out.• She had longed to be a bad girl in those post-war years, those austerity years.• Squashing a bad girl is like trying to squash a bluebottle.• Nice girls saved everything until they were married and bad girls, well, bad girls did the opposite. bad for• Not bad for a Monday, I thought.• Insurers pronounced 1998 the worst for climate-related disasters-until 1999 came along.• Which was good for the soul, but bad for knees and dignity.• If the judgment was bad for Microsoft, surely it must be good for somebody.• It was bad for pilot morale.• As chapter 11 is so bad for senior creditors, management and shareholders have a big advantage.• Stigler admitted that, theoretically speaking, monopolies were usually bad for society.• Financial analysts repeated time and again to the media that any and all wage increases were bad for the stock market.• Smoking is bad for your health.gone bad• Could he explain it all, the three-game losing streak, the Rose Bowl ambitions gone bad?• He is that most traditional of stereotypes - the working class gone bad.• The theory here is that governments are more likely to bail out essential-service projects whose financing has gone bad.• We had some cans of ginger ale in a cooler, but they had gone bad, exploded.bad at (doing) something• In fact, it is not bad at all.• The things that male brains are usually good at gay brains are often bad at, and vice versa.• And she added that some women were just as bad at bullying as the men.• Either she was not anorexic, or she was awfully bad at it.• It was always worst at night, as he waited for sleep to rescue him.• The distortion generated is worst at the kind of levels needed for headphone listening.• Intractable as these difficulties sometimes are at the sampling stage, they become much worse at the level of analysis and interpretation. badbad2 noun 1 → to the bad2 → my bad!3 → go to the badExamples from the Corpus
bad• More of the bad of Washington sticks to you than the good.badbad3 adverb spoken a word used to mean ‘badly’ that many people think is incorrect I need that money bad.Examples from the Corpus
bad• He needed a drink pretty bad.• The front of the shop had been blown away, and the roof was badly damaged.• Two of the passengers were killed, and the driver was badly injured.• Like I hate it and I do bad at it.• How bad do you want it?From Longman Business Dictionarybadbad1 /bæd/ adjective bad debt/loan/investment/stock/assetFINANCEBANKING a bad debt, loan, investment etc is one from which you will not be able to get your money backBarclays have sharply increased their provision for bad corporate debts.The bank has more than a half billion dollars of bad assets.badbad2 noun to the bad if you are a particular amount of money to the bad, you have lost or owe that amountThanks to your mistake, I’m £500 to the bad!Origin bad1 (1200-1300) Perhaps from Old English bæddel “male homosexual” 