bad apple

noun

plural bad apples

: someone who creates problems or causes trouble for others

They'll look for telltale signs that your broker's a bad apple: too much trading … or investments that are clearly too risky for someone like you.

—Daniel McGinn

often, specifically : a member of a group whose behavior reflects poorly on or negatively affects or influences the remainder of the group

As in many industries, this could well be a case of a few bad apples tarnishing the reputation of the rest.

—Ian Giles

One bad apple in the bunch can destroy the cohesiveness of the team.

—Do-It-Yourself Retailing

… that individual brings down the rest of the team. This is the "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch" theory in action.

—Shep Hyken

Most people will be able to recall a situation where the bad mood or negative attitude of a colleague affected their workplace. As the saying goes, one bad apple spoils the whole damn bunch.

—Rebecca Jordan

Examples of bad apple in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The company has repeatedly cast Kogan as a singularly bad apple, while the armchair sleuths of the internet have used his Russian heritage and research ties to St. Petersburg University to accuse him of being a Russian spy. —Issie Lapowsky, WIRED, 19 June 2018

There are certainly good Nissan dealers just as there are plenty of bad apples representing other brands, but the sheer volume of shady Nissan stores is higher than average compared to similar imports. —Tom McParland / Jalopnik, Quartz, 3 Oct. 2024

Having a regulatory framework gives the industry a broad rubber stamp to keep chugging along now that the rules are clearer and the few bad apples have been rooted out. —Whizy Kim, Vox, 13 Sep. 2024

While every profession has bad apples, one bad review shouldn’t spoil the entire basket. —Alvina Lo, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above