Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Without merit or value; worthless: Describes something or someone that is completely useless, ineffective, or of no benefit.
   • Lazy and irresponsible: Specifically describes a person who is idle and contributes nothing of worth.

2. Noun:

   • An idle, worthless person: Refers to a person who is lazy, unproductive, and fails to make any useful contribution.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • He was fired for being a good-for-nothing employee who never completed his tasks.
  • They abandoned the good-for-nothing old car by the side of the road.

• Noun:

  • Don't listen to him; he's just a good-for-nothing who never held a real job.
  • She warned her son not to become a good-for-nothing like his uncle.

Advanced Usage

• Used as a hyphenated compound modifier before a noun.
  • He has a good-for-nothing attitude that annoys everyone.
• Often used in a tone of strong disapproval or contempt.

Variants and Related Words

• Good-for-naught (adj/n): An older or less common variant with the same meaning.
• Ne'er-do-well (n): A very close synonym for the noun form, meaning a worthless or lazy person.
• Wastrel (n): A person who wastes time or resources; a good-for-nothing.

Synonyms

• Adjective: worthless, useless, no-good, no-account, sorry.
• Noun: idler, loafer, layabout, deadbeat, wastrel.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• A lazy good-for-nothing: An intensified phrase emphasizing idleness.
  • He spent his days on the couch, a lazy good-for-nothing.
• Good for nothing: When not hyphenated, it can function as a descriptive phrase.
  • That old tool is good for nothing now. (Note: In this predicative use, it is often not hyphenated.)

Adjective

1. without merit
   • a sorry horse
   • a sorry excuse
   • a lazy no-count, good-for-nothing goldbrick
   • the car was a no-good piece of junk

Noun

1. an idle worthless person