Definition of "bad"

He looked round the poor room, at the distempered walls, and the bad engravings in meretricious frames, the crinkly paper and wax flowers on the chiffonier; and he thought of a room like Father Bryan's, with panelling, with cut glass, with tulips in silver pots, such a room as he had hoped to have for his own.

1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company

“ […] if you call my duds a ‘livery’ again there'll be trouble. It's bad enough to go around togged out like a life saver on a drill day, but I can stand that 'cause I'm paid for it. What I won't stand is to have them togs called a livery. […] ”

1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 7, in Mr. Pratt's Patients

I can tell that new kid at our daycare is trouble […] He's picking out his favorite corner to stand in when he's bad.

2014 August 28, Tom Armstrong, Marvin (comic)

He's the big bad wolf in your neighborhood / not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good

1986, Darryl McDaniels, Joseph Simmons (lyrics and music), “Peter Piper”, in Raising Hell, performed by Run-DMC

Man, that bitch was bad—it was the best piece of pussy that I ever had.

1994, “Best Ever” (track 7), in N2Deep (lyrics), 24-7-365

Oh let me tell you that it / Hurts so bad / It makes me feel so sad / You make it hurt so bad / To see you again.

1965, Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein, Bobby Hart (lyrics and music), “Hurt So Bad”, in Hurt So Bad, performed by The Lettermen

You leave your girl around me; if she's bad she's gonna get stuck.

2005, “Stay Fly”, in Jordan Houston, Darnell Carlton, Paul Beauregard, Premro Smith, Marlon Goodwin, David Brown, Willie Hutchinson (lyrics), Most Known Unknown‎, performed by Three 6 Mafia (featuring Young Buck, 8 Ball, and MJG), Sony BMG

I want you / I want you so bad, it's driving me mad

1969, Lennon–McCartney (lyrics and music), “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”, in Abbey Road, performed by The Beatles

We idealize God as supergoodness in order to protect against a bad that we cannot unite with ourselves.

2001, Ann Belford Ulanov, Finding Space: Winnicott, God, and Psychic Reality, page 59

"My bad, My bad!” Juwan yelled, scowling

1993, Mitch Albom, Fab five: basketball, trash talk, the American dream‎

“Chico, you're late again.” I turned around and stared him in his beady eyes. “I missed my bus. My bad, Donald.” “Your bad? Your bad? What kind of English is that?

2003, Zane, Skyscraper, page 7

Teresa broke out in laughter. “Dang, I sound like I'm talking to my man.” “I tried your cell phone, but you didn't answer.” “I left it at home, Friday. My bad.” “Yeah, your bad.” I laughed. “Really, I'm sorry. It won't happen again.

2008, Camika Spencer, Cubicles, page 68

Imports are an economic good but exports an economic bad. Exports must be produced but are enjoyed by foreign consumers.

2011, Henry Thompson, International Economics: Global Markets and Competition, 3rd edition, World Scientific, page 97

An economic bad is anything that you would pay to get rid of. It is not so hard to think of examples of bads: pollution, garbage, and disease fit the description.

2011, William J. Boyes, Michael Melvin, Economics, 9th edition, Cengage Learning, page 4

A curious specimen of Gloucestershire dialect came out in an assault case heard by the Gloucester court magistrates on Saturday. One of the witnesses, speaking of what a girl was doing at the time the assault took place, said she was ‘badding’ walnuts in a pigstye. The word is peculiarly provincial: to ‘bad’ walnuts is to strip away the husk. The walnut, too, is often called a ‘bannut,’ and hence the old Gloucestershire phrase, ‘Come an’ bad the bannuts.’

1876, The Gloucester Journal, Oct. 7, 1876, reported in A. Gregory, “Gloucestershire Dialect,” Notes and Queries, 5th ser., 6, 148 (1876‑10‑28): 346