What does “a bad rep” mean in English?

Rep is short for reputation — what people think of something. If something has a bad rep, most people think it is bad or dangerous. A British street artist uses this phrase about social media: she thinks people judge it too harshly, but she finds it a really useful tool. Rep is informal and very common in everyday speech.

The artist says: “Social media’s got quite a bad rep these days, but it is a very powerful tool for an independent artist.” She shares her live stitched street portraits online and reads the comments when she feels doubt about her work. Seeing positive reactions helps her feel confident again. Rep is short for reputation. You can say a person, a place, or a thing has a good rep or a bad rep. This is informal — more common in speech than in writing. You may also see the spelling bad rap — from the word rap, meaning a blame or criticism. Both mean the same thing, but bad rep is more common in everyday speech. Examples: “That area has a bad rep, but it is actually very safe.” / “She has a great rep at work.” / “It has an undeserved bad rep — people just don’t know it well enough.”