Meaning of bad apple | Babel Free

Definitions

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

idiomatic, in-plural, often

Equivalents

Examples

“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."”

CEFR level