no bueno

/ˈnoʊ ˈbwɛ.noʊ/

adjective

Not good; no good; bad.

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Meanings

adjectiveno bueno (not comparable)
  1. UShumorousinformalmildlynot comparableNot good; no good; bad.

    So he held firm. “No bueno” on permanent charters, as one text message described his thinking.

    2025 December 12, Jeff Gluck, “NASCAR needs to move into the future. It’s time for CEO Jim France to step aside”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 16 Dec 2025
    1 more example

    When I see people in a day dress and casual shoes or an outfit that looks like it came from work, no bueno.

    2026 May 20, Alexis Benveniste, “Jenna Lyons Has Thoughts on What You Should Wear to That Wedding”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Origin

Pseudo-Hispanism, derived from no + bueno, a calque of no good. The closest equivalent to the adjective in Spanish is no estar bien (literally, “to not be good”); however it is a phrase rather than an adjective.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

no bueno. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20bueno

MLA

“no bueno.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20bueno. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “no bueno,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20bueno.

Source: no bueno on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.