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

As 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

The 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

Examples of big bad in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Much of the movie is spent with Dalton fighting assorted henchmen working for a real-estate developer who wants the waterfront property Frankie’s bar sits on, but the stakes jump dramatically when the movie’s psychopathic big bad, played by UFC star Conor McGregor, gets called into action. —Marco Grob, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2024

Through the story of Billie, a young and rebellious lamb who decides to confront a big bad wolf, the film questions how preconceived ideas shape our worldview and invites us to embrace individuality. —Jamie Lang, Variety, 17 Sep. 2024

And that's all before Jonathan Majors, who was set to play the Thanos-level big bad in the future Marvel films, was found guilty of two counts of assault. —Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 25 July 2024

Mckenna Grace leads the newer heroes and Bill Murray heads up the old crew against the new big bad Garraka, a horned phantom who represents a chilly existential threat to New York City (and pretty much all mankind). —Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 16 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

2001, in the meaning defined above