no-good

[ adjective noh-good; noun noh-good ]

adjective

1. lacking worth or merit; useless; bad:

   This no-good faucet never did work properly. Her no-good brother sold me the car.

noun

1. a person or thing that is worthless or undependable.

Word History and Origins

Origin of no-good¹

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Idioms and Phrases

Unsatisfactory, inadequate; also, no use. For example, This work is no good; it'll have to be done over , or It's no good complaining since there's nothing we can do , or I tried to appeal to his sense of generosity, but it did no good . [Mid-1800s] Also see come to an end (to no good) , def. 2; do any (no) good .

Example Sentences

“You no-good children, come back here right this instant!” she hollered.

From Literature

A no-good year: Why did the Denver quarterback Russell Wilson endure the worst season of his career?

From New York Times

Except she was wrong — because besides the totally, horrible, no-good, rotten ending — the show was PERFECT!

From Los Angeles Times

His character is a peevish no-good who shoots people and kicks bear cubs.

From Seattle Times

In “The Bandit Queens,” wives in rural India get the ultimate revenge on their no-good husbands.

From New York Times