bad guy
Americannoun
-
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.
“It’s interesting that even these bad guys, if you want to call them that, are pretty careful about not hurting people.”
From Los Angeles Times
"This is a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world. The good guys are stronger than the bad guys," he added.
From Barron's
But because the story needs a happy ending, I made up an island for him to land on, where he could build a raft and sail after the bad guys to rescue the lady hero.
From Literature
They hope the devices will deter criminals, or at least catch bad guys in the act.
I always assumed Aunt Melissa was the bad guy.
From Literature
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.
