Phrase guide

not half bad

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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1

adj

Meaning 1

Pretty good, imperfect but more than OK.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, not-comparable

Examples

  • It was his first attempt at cooking, but I tried it and it was not half bad.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Variant of not bad. Compare not half.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • German: halb so schlimm — imperfect but more than OK
  • Polish: całkiem, całkiem — imperfect but more than OK
  • Polish: nawet, nawet — imperfect but more than OK
  • Polish: niczego sobie — imperfect but more than OK
  • Russian: не тако́й уж плохо́й (ne takój už ploxój) — imperfect but more than OK