Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

one bad apple can spoil the barrel

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.61 in modern English

Syllables
one bad ap-ple -can spoil the bar-rel
IPA
44
Scrabble Score
28
Letters
4
Syllables
14
Unique Chars

Meaning

proverb

One bad person or element can have a harmful influence on many others.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From the observation that rot of a single fruit can spread to many fruit nearby.

Phrases

bad apple bad egg rotten apple if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas rotten to the core the fish rots from the head

Frequently Paired Words

bad apple bad egg rotten apple if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas rotten to the core the fish rots from the head

Synonyms

one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch

Questions

What does one bad apple can spoil the barrel mean?
One bad person or element can have a harmful influence on many others.
Where does one bad apple can spoil the barrel come from?
From the observation that rot of a single fruit can spread to many fruit nearby.

How to pronounce one bad apple can spoil the barrel

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “one bad apple can spoil the barrel”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “one bad apple can spoil the barrel”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “one bad apple can spoil the barrel” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.