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
All Along’s big bad might end up being by the season’s midway point, when Sharon and Alice had already bitten the dust.
—Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 1 Nov. 2024
There’s an interesting twist in that the big bad — Kate del Castillo as the mother of the man Mike fathered — is a participant in some vague form of black magic and seems to be communing with the netherworld.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 12 Oct. 2024
Smile 2 definitely has its share of the latter, peaking when the series’ big bad forces a host to bash his skull in with a weightlifting plate.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2024
But for David Howard Thornton, who plays the films' big bad, Art the Clown, the release of Terrifier 3 marks a happy occasion to add a chilling new method of mutilation to the list — freezing.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 12 Oct. 2024
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.
Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 1 Nov. 2024
There’s an interesting twist in that the big bad — Kate del Castillo as the mother of the man Mike fathered — is a participant in some vague form of black magic and seems to be communing with the netherworld.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 12 Oct. 2024
Smile 2 definitely has its share of the latter, peaking when the series’ big bad forces a host to bash his skull in with a weightlifting plate.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2024
But for David Howard Thornton, who plays the films' big bad, Art the Clown, the release of Terrifier 3 marks a happy occasion to add a chilling new method of mutilation to the list — freezing.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 12 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for big bad
Dictionary Entries Near big bad
Cite this Entry
“Big bad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big%20bad. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share