big bad
noun
variants
or Big Bad
plural big bads or Big Bads
: a major villain or antagonist (as in a movie, show, or game)
When Ursula, the story's big bad, took to the screen, I would run behind the entertainment center and cover my eyes, a fact my mom loves to remind me about whenever she gets the chance.—
KT Hawbaker
KT HawbakerAs the show [Buffy the Vampire Slayer] aged, the Big Bads became more dangerous and the lessons more adult, but Buffy never gave up …—Kaitlin Thomas
Kaitlin ThomasThe Big Bad this time around is the wind mage Vaati, who has captured Zelda, and it's your quest to defeat him and prevent the unholy union of princess and evil eyeball-blob-thing.—Tony Ponce
Tony PonceExamples of big bad in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Jared Leto stars as the big bad Skeletor (who was not revealed in any footage).
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 3 Apr. 2025
The new update sees the Fantastic Four joining the fight against Dracula, who is this season's big bad.
—Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
Embracing every moment, Goldberg gets plenty of laughs as Miss Hannigan despite being Annie's big bad.
—Dave Quinn, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024
On the antagonist side, Melo Movie’s Lee Jun-young stars as Geum Sung-jae (aka Wolf Keum) and D.P. Season 2’s Bae Na-ra stars as big bad Na Baek-jin (aka Donald Na).
—Kayti Burt, Time, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for big bad
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Matt Donnelly, Variety, 3 Apr. 2025
The new update sees the Fantastic Four joining the fight against Dracula, who is this season's big bad.
—Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
Embracing every moment, Goldberg gets plenty of laughs as Miss Hannigan despite being Annie's big bad.
—Dave Quinn, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024
On the antagonist side, Melo Movie’s Lee Jun-young stars as Geum Sung-jae (aka Wolf Keum) and D.P. Season 2’s Bae Na-ra stars as big bad Na Baek-jin (aka Donald Na).
—Kayti Burt, Time, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for big bad
Cite this Entry
“Big bad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big%20bad. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share