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Baedeker
bac-te-ri-a /bæk'tɪəriə/ n [P] sing. -rium /riəm/ very small
living things related to plants, some of which cause disease;
MICROBES → compare VIRUS —rial adj: a bacterial infection
bac-te-ri-ol-o-gy /bæk,tɪəri'ɒlədʒil-'ɑːl-/ n [U] the scien-
tific study of bacteria —gist n
Bac-tri-an cam-el /,bæktriən 'kæməl/ n [C] a CAMEL from
Asia with two HUMPS
bad¹ /bæd/ adj worse /wɜːs||wɜːrs/, worst /wɜːst||wɜːrst/
1 not good; unpleasant, unwanted, or unacceptable: a very
bad performance (=not of acceptable quality) | The rain has
had a very bad (=unfavourable) effect on the crops. | You're a
bad (=disobedient) boy! | bad (=unpleasant) news | The
company's failure was due to bad (=ineffective)
management. | Play in the cricket match was stopped because
of bad light. (=because it was too dark) | bad (=incorrect)
grammar | I'm rather bad at sums. (=can't do them very
well) | He's in a bad temper. (=angry) | I felt bad (=ashamed or
sorry) about not being able to come last night. | It was bad of
him (=dishonourable) to change his mind once he had given
his promise. | He made a very bad job of repairing it. | The
situation is nothing like as bad/nowhere near as bad
(=much less bad) as the newspapers say it is. 2 unhealthy or
unwell: She's got a bad heart. | My leg's bad again. (=is
hurting) | (inflml) He was taken bad (=became ill) in the middle
of the night. 3 [(for)] having a harmful effect on one's health;
damaging: bad eating habits | Smoking is bad for you/bad for
your health. 4 serious; severe: a bad cold | a bad defeat | a
bad case of measles 5 unfit to eat because of decay; ROTTEN:
bad apples | This fish has gone bad. 6 not suitable; INOPPOR-
TUNE: The rise in interest rates happened at the worst possible
time for the company. | [+to-v] It was a bad moment to call
because they were in the middle of an argument. 7 AmE slang
good 8 (act) in bad faith (to act) dishonestly; without
intending to carry out a promise 9 bad lot/egg/hat/type
old-fash a person of dishonourable character 10 go from bad
to worse to get much worse even than before 11 have/get
a bad name to lose or have lost people's respect; have/get a
bad REPUTATION: Those cars have begun to get a bad name for
rust. 12 in a bad way very ill or in serious trouble 13 (it's/
that's) too bad inflml a) it is unfortunate (that); I'm sorry:
Too bad you couldn't come last night. b) BrE it is very
annoying or unreasonable: They can't just double the price
like that - it's too bad! 14 not bad infml (often used when a
stronger expression of pleasure or approval is really meant)
really rather good: 'How are you feeling?' 'Not (so) bad.' | This
cake isn't bad. | That's not a bad idea! → see also BADLY,
make the best of a bad job (JOB) —ness n [U]
bad² n 1 go to the bad to begin living in a wrong or evil
way: He's gone to the bad since he won all that money. 2 take
the bad with the good to accept not only the good things
but also the bad things in life 3 to the bad in debt by (an
amount): I've spent so much that I'm £100 to the bad this
month.
'bad-ass adj [A] AmE infml 1 very good or impressive: The best
shop for bad-ass biker gear. 2 a bad-ass person is very
determined and does not always obey rules: Johnson plays
this bad-ass cop named O'Riley. —bad-ass, badass n [C]
bad 'blood also ,bad 'feeling n [U[between]] angry or bitter
feeling; HOSTILITY: I don't think they'll ever work together
again - there's too much bad blood between them.
bad 'debt n a debt that is unlikely to be paid
bad-die, bad-dy /'bædi/ BrE || bad guy AmE —,n someone
who is bad or an opponent of good people, especially in
books, films etc: He's a real baddie. | Look out, the baddies are
coming!
bade /bæd, beɪd/ past tense and participle of BID
Ba-den-Po-well, Lord Rob-ert /,beɪdn 'pəʊəl,
'rɒbət||'rɑːbərt/ (1857-1941) a British army officer who is
known for starting the SCOUT organizations such as the
Scouts and the Guides
bad 'form n [U] old-fash BrE socially unacceptable behaviour:
It's bad form to argue with the umpire.
badge /bædʒ/ n 1 BrE || button, pin, patch AmE anything,
especially a small piece of metal or plastic with a picture or
words on it, worn to show rank, membership of a group,
support for a political idea or belief etc: They were wearing
badges that said 'Nuclear Power - No thanks!'. | a school
blazer with a badge sewn on it | Mayors wear chains round
their necks as badges of office. → compare BROOCH; see
also BUTTON¹ 2 AmE a small piece of metal with words or
pictures on it which shows authority: a sheriff's badge | He
had to show me his badge before I would believe he was from
the F.B.I. 3 a small piece of cloth with a picture on it given to
SCOUTS, GUIDES etc when they have done certain things to
earn it: I got my photography and music badges today.
bad-ger¹ /'bædʒər/ n 1 [C]
an animal which has black
and white fur, lives in holes
in the ground, and is active
at night 2 [U] the skin or
hair of this animal
badger² v [T(into)] to (try to)
persuade by asking again and
again; PESTER: They badger-
ed me into taking them to
the cinema. | [+obj+to-v] They
kept badgering him to get a
home computer.
'bad ,guy n AmE infml BADDIE
,bad 'hair ,day n [S] infml a day when you cannot make your
hair look attractive and you therefore feel annoyed and ugly.
It can also be used to mean a day when everything seems to
go wrong for you.
bad-i-nage /'bædɪnɑːʒ|,bædən'ɑːʒ/ n [U] fml or humor playful
joking talk; BANTER: Enough of this badinage: let's talk seri-
ously.
bad-lands /'bædlændz/ n [P] (in N America) an area of
unproductive land with strangely-shaped rocks and hills
that have been worn away by the weather
Badlands, the n [P] an area of land in the US, between the
southwest of South Dakota and the northwest of Nebraska,
where no crops can grow and there are strangely shaped
rocks and hills
,bad 'language n [U] language which includes swear words
and is likely to offend people: That film has got a lot of bad
language in it. | Stop using bad language in front of the
children.
bad-ly /'bædli/ adv worse /wɜːs||wɜːrs/, worst /wɜːst||
wɜːrst/ 1 in a bad manner: badly made clothes | to play
badly | badly wounded | The company had been badly
managed. | He felt very badly (=was very sorry) about not
being able to give more help. 2 to a great or serious degree:
My horse was badly beaten in the race. | badly wounded | It
badly needs repainting. | He's badly in need of a haircut. |
The north of the country is the most badly affected area/the
worst-affected area.
,badly-'off also bad-off AmE — adj worse-off or worst-off
[F] 1 not having much money; poor: They're too badly off
to have a holiday. 2 [(for)] not having enough (of something
needed); lacking: The school is rather badly-off for equip-
ment. → opposite WELL-OFF
bad-min-ton /'bædmɪntən/ n [U] a game like tennis played
by two or four people who hit a small feathered object
(SHUTTLECOCK) over a high net with a RACKET
,Badminton 'Horse ,Trials, the an important British
horseriding competition held every year at Badminton
House in southwest England
'bad-mouth v [T] slang, especially AmE to speak badly of; criti-
cize: He was bad-mouthing the way the company was run and
the boss overheard him.
,bad-'off adj AmE for BADLY-OFF
,bad 'penny n infml 1 a person or thing that is not liked or
wanted but is difficult to avoid 2 turn up like a bad penny
(of a person or thing not liked or wanted) to appear
continually: My ex-boyfriend turns up like a bad penny every
time I go out.
,bad-'tempered adj having a bad or angry state of mind:
He's a bit bad-tempered now - he's just woken up. → see also
ANGRY (USAGE)
Bae-dek-er /'beɪdɪkər/ trademark a type of book providing
information for tourists visiting a particular country, origi-
nally produced in the 19th century by Karl Baedeker. These