go bad
/ɡoʊ bæd/
Meaning
This idiom means that food has spoiled, decayed, or is no longer safe or pleasant to eat. It is commonly used for milk turning sour, fruit rotting, or leftovers sitting in the fridge for too long.
Examples
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Smell this milk; I think it has gone bad.
Smell this milk; I think it has gone bad.
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Don't leave the meat on the counter, or it will go bad quickly.
Don't leave the meat on the counter, or it will go bad quickly.
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These bananas are starting to go bad, so let's make banana bread.
These bananas are starting to go bad, so let's make banana bread.
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How long can leftovers stay in the freezer before they go bad?
How long can leftovers stay in the freezer before they go bad?
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The tomatoes went bad because we forgot to eat them.
The tomatoes went bad because we forgot to eat them.
Common Mistakes
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✗ The milk became bad.
✓ The milk went bad.
While 'became bad' is grammatically possible, native speakers almost always use the collocation 'go bad' to describe spoiled food.
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✗ This meat is gone badly.
✓ This meat has gone bad.
'Go' in this context is a linking verb, so it must be followed by the adjective 'bad', not the adverb 'badly'.
Related Expressions
Practice
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Put the cheese back in the fridge before it ___.
💡 Spoils.
Show answer
goes bad
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I had to throw away the strawberries because they had ___.
💡 Past participle of go bad.
Show answer
gone bad