bad trip

noun

"bad-trip" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bad trip” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An acute adverse psychological reaction to the effects produced under the influence of psychoactive substances, namely hallucinogens.

Key facts for bad trip
PropertyValue
Headwordbad trip
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bad trip” sits in English frequency

bad trip falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for bad trip is 8 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "An acute adverse psychological reaction to the effects produced under the influence of psychoactive substances, namely hallucinogens.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for bad trip in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From bad + trip, first use appears c. 1966 in the periodical Life. The correct English form is bad trip, spelled B-A-D- -T-R-I-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    An acute adverse psychological reaction to the effects produced under the influence of psychoactive substances, namely hallucinogens.

Etymology

From bad + trip, first use appears c. 1966 in the periodical Life.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bad trip"?
"bad trip" is spelled B-A-D- -T-R-I-P.
What does "bad trip" mean?
As a noun, "bad trip" means: An acute adverse psychological reaction to the effects produced under the influence of psychoactive substances, namely hallucinogens.
What is the origin of the word "bad trip"?
From bad + trip, first use appears c. 1966 in the periodical Life. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “bad trip”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-A-D- -T-R-I-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list