Bad At: Standard Pattern
Bad At: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than turning one attested complement into a universal prohibition.
Use “bad at” to say that someone is not successful or skilled at an activity or subject.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning | Pattern | Example shape |
|---|---|---|
| lack of skill/success | bad at + noun/-ing | bad at chess; bad at remembering names |
| harmful/detrimental | bad for + noun | bad for the battery |
| moral/quality judgment | bad + noun/adjective context | a bad decision |
Quick tests
Skill test
Are you describing poor skill or lack of success in an activity or subject?
If yes: Use “bad at” before the activity/subject.
If no: If you mean harmfulness or another sense of “bad,” choose the complement that matches that different meaning.
Caveat: This guide documents the “bad at” skill/success pattern; it does not claim that every use of “bad” takes “at.”
Examples
I am bad at remembering passwords.
“Bad at” introduces an activity in which the person lacks skill.
He is bad at chess.
The complement names the subject/activity.
This heat is bad at the battery.
Better: This heat is bad for the battery.
For a harmful effect, the relevant pattern is “bad for,” not the skill pattern.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “bad at” to say that someone is not successful or skilled at an activity or subject.
Style Boundary
This page is limited to the ability/skill construction; it does not cover the many other meanings and complements of “bad.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- BAD | English meaning — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Direct Cambridge dictionary evidence for the Bad At construction and its meaning boundary.