"bad up" means: To badmouth; criticise or malign.. This is informal slang, common in casual speech, texting and social media, but not appropriate for school work, applications or professional settings. There is no real cause for concern in itself; it is everyday peer vocabulary. If your child uses it, a light comment about audience and register is usually enough — no need to escalate. Context, more than the word, tells you whether to follow up.
bad up
(slang, transitive) To badmouth; criticise or malign.
Definitions
(slang, transitive) To badmouth; criticise or malign.
"bad up" means: To badmouth; criticise or malign.. This is informal slang, common in casual speech, texting and social media, but not appropriate for school work, applications or professional settings. There is no real cause for concern in itself; it is everyday peer vocabulary. If your child uses it, a light comment about audience and register is usually enough — no need to escalate. Context, more than the word, tells you whether to follow up.
"bad up" means: To badmouth; criticise or malign.. Register: informal slang, fine in casual conversation, texting and social media but not in academic essays, business writing or formal speech. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
Comments
(slang, UK) To make (someone) paranoid or messed up, e.g., emotionally or from drugs.
Comments
For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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Semantically related
- bitch up73%
(ambitransitive, slang) to ruin; spoil; mess up.
- bad rap73%
(slang) An undeservedly poor reputation.
- baditude69%
A casual slang blend of bad and attitude, describing a negative, confrontational, or unnecessarily difficult attitude. The bad element signals the quality of the attitude rather than making it a compliment in the way that a bad attitude rarely is. Used to describe someone who is bringing unnecessary conflict or defiance to a situation where cooperation would serve everyone better.
- bad to beat69%
(slang, archaic) Difficult to beat; sure to succeed.