bad news

noun

plural in form but singular in construction
: one that is troublesome, unwelcome, or dangerous
stay away from him, he's bad news

Examples of bad news in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Friday defined a good news/bad news day at a West Miami-Dade Sedano’s Supermarket. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026 That’s bad news for residents of the Florida Panhandle, where the storm is expected to make landfall on Friday evening, as well as people living in nearby southern Alabama, coastal Mississippi, Georgia and far-eastern Louisiana. — Alex Deluca, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026 That’s bad news for private schools, which could be forced into provisions antithetical to their purposes. — Mailee Smith, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026 The only bad news is that the Dodgers are in the NLCS and +120 to win the World Series. — Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bad news

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bad news was in 1917

Rhymes for bad news

See All Rhymes for bad news

Browse Nearby Words

badness
bad news
bad off
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bad news.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bad%20news. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of deportment

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All