worse

Universal Words adjective, adverb, noun adjective (comparative of bad) ~ (than sth / doing sth) 1 of poorer quality or lower standard; less good or more unpleasant: The rooms were awful and the food was worse. * The weather got worse during the day. * The interview was much worse than he had expected. * I've been to far worse places. * There's nothing worse than going out in the cold with wet hair. 2 more serious or severe: They were trying to prevent an even worse tragedy. * The crisis was getting worse and worse. * Don't tell her that-you'll only make things worse. * Never mind-it could be worse (= although the situation is bad, it is not as bad as it might have been). 3 [notbeforenoun] more ill/sick or unhappy: If he gets any worse we'll call the doctor. * He told her she'd let them down and she felt worse than ever. IDIOMS come off worse to lose a fight, competition, etc. or suffer more compared with others go from bad to worse (of a bad condition, situation, etc.) to get even worse worse luck! (BrE, spoken) used to show that you are disappointed about sth: I shall have to miss the party, worse luck! moreatBARKn., FATEn. adverb (comparative of badly) ~ (than sth) 1 less well: I didn't do it very well, but, if anything, he did it worse than I did. 2 more seriously or severely: It's raining worse than ever. 3 used to introduce a statement about sth that is more serious or unpleasant than things already mentioned: She'd lost her job. Even worse, she'd lost her house and her children, too. IDIOMS be worse off to be poorer, unhappier, etc. than before or than sb else: The increase in taxes means that we'll be ｣30 a month worse off than before. * I've only broken my arm; other people are far worse off than me. you can / could do worse than do sth used to say that you think sth is a good idea: If you want a safe investment, you could do a lot worse than put your money in a building society. noun [U] more problems or bad news: I'm afraid there is worse to come. IDIOMS be none the worse (for sth) to not be harmed by sth: The kids were none the worse for their adventure. the worse for wear (informal) 1 in a poor condition because of being used a lot 2 drunk: He arrived home at two in the morning, much the worse for wear. moreatBETTERn., CHANGEn.