Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bad apple

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.69 in modern English

Syllables: bad ap-ple
IPA

15

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person who is not wholesome, honest, or trustworthy, especially one who has an adverse influence on others.

Example Sentences

"Near-synonym: bad egg"
"There is one bad apple, and that is Katie, the beautiful prostitute with whom Catcher Bruce is in love. Unlike the cliche harlot of fiction, she is as short of compassion as Bruce is of IQ."
"While most union leaders are people of integrity, there are still bad apples."
"If anyone still harbors the fantasy that the business scandals of the past few years were the handiwork of just a few bad apples, they should read John Bogle's "Battle for the Soul of Capitalism.""

Etymology

From the proverb “one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch” (or a variant thereof).

Inflected Forms

bad apples (plural)

Phrases

bad appling there's a rotten apple in every barrel rotten to the core

Frequently Paired Words

there's a rotten apple in every barrel rotten to the core

Synonyms

rotten apple bad seed bad egg

Questions

What does bad apple mean?: A person who is not wholesome, honest, or trustworthy, especially one who has an adverse influence on others.
Where does bad apple come from?: From the proverb “one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch” (or a variant thereof).

How to pronounce bad apple

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “bad apple”.
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