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
In addition to playing the Harry Potter franchise's big bad Voldemort, Fiennes has recently appeared in Mark Mylod's The Menu (2022) and Wes Anderson's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023).
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Rhea Perlman will be reprising her role from season one, which ended with Charlie taking down fixer Cliff (Benjamin Bratt) and casino owner Sterling Frost (Ron Perlman), only to be blackmailed by Rhea Perlman’s big bad Beatrix Hasp to either work for her or be hunted again.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2025
Angry Birds 2 even has a real zag moment when the pig leader accidentally displays his dating-app thirst traps during a slideshow presentation about taking on the new big bad.
—Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2025
Since then, there's been talk of Marvel recasting Kang with various actors, including Oscar nominee Colman Domingo, and Robert Downey Jr. signed on to play the villainous Doctor Doom who, like Kang, is a high-profile Avengers big bad from the comic books.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 21 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.
Randall Colburn, EW.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Rhea Perlman will be reprising her role from season one, which ended with Charlie taking down fixer Cliff (Benjamin Bratt) and casino owner Sterling Frost (Ron Perlman), only to be blackmailed by Rhea Perlman’s big bad Beatrix Hasp to either work for her or be hunted again.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2025
Angry Birds 2 even has a real zag moment when the pig leader accidentally displays his dating-app thirst traps during a slideshow presentation about taking on the new big bad.
—Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2025
Since then, there's been talk of Marvel recasting Kang with various actors, including Oscar nominee Colman Domingo, and Robert Downey Jr. signed on to play the villainous Doctor Doom who, like Kang, is a high-profile Avengers big bad from the comic books.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 21 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 29 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share