not half bad

adjective

Pretty good, imperfect but more than OK.

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

Similar
satisfactory
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

adjectivenot half bad (not comparable)
  1. idiomaticnot comparablePretty good, imperfect but more than OK.

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

    Synonyms: satisfactory

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivePretty good, imperfect but more than OK.

Similar
satisfactory
Also see
acceptablenot badsatisfactory

Origin

Variant of not bad. Compare not half.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

German halb so schlimm
  • halb so schlimmimperfect but more than OK
Polish całkiem, całkiem, nawet, nawet
  • całkiem, całkiemimperfect but more than OK
  • nawet, nawetimperfect but more than OK
  • niczego sobieimperfect but more than OK
Russian не тако́й уж плохо́й
  • не тако́й уж плохо́й (ne takój už ploxój)imperfect but more than OK
Cite this entry
APA

not half bad. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20half%20bad

MLA

“not half bad.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20half%20bad. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “not half bad,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20half%20bad.

Source: not half bad on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.