bad guy
Americannoun
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an evil or malicious person; a villain or someone perceived as one.
The actor now makes his living guest starring as the bad guy on many different TV shows.
Business consulting can turn you into the bad guy for people who don't want to know their idea could fail.
-
any person who does bad or harmful things, especially habitually.
In tech security, you just have to live with the fact that the bad guys are already ahead of you.
Etymology
Origin of bad guy
An Americanism first recorded in 1920–25
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“You want her to be the bad guy? FINE. Kathryn Hahn is Mother Gothel in Disney’s live-action Tangled,” read Disney’s caption.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
They said he gave less direct feedback than Lasseter and seemed to never want to be the bad guy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026
Asked for his reaction to Bolton's indictment, Trump told reporters his former aide is a "bad guy" and "that's the way it goes."
From Barron's • Oct. 16, 2025
It can be dangerous but the performance side of it… I'm a good waffler on the mic... making people believe you're the bad guy or the good guy.
From BBC • Aug. 23, 2025
“I don’t want to be the bad guy, Danny. But you can’t keep behaving this way. You’re lucky we took you in.”
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
