rotten apple

collocation in English

meaningsofrottenandapple

These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withapple.
rotten
adjective
uk
/ˈrɒt.ən/us
/ˈrɑː.tən/
decayed:
See more atrotten
apple
noun[C or U]
uk
/ˈæp.əl/us
/ˈæp.əl/
a round fruit with firm, white flesh and a green, red, or ...
See more atapple

(Definition ofrottenandapplefrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)

Examplesofrotten apple

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
This response is intriguing because the writer is likening a barrel of apples to a group of friends, and arottenappleto an unpleasant person, evidencing analogical reasoning.
From theCambridge English Corpus
We do not want, as it were, onerottenapplecorrupting the rest of the barrel.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
That project was dangled before the city, only to be shown to be arottenappleas soon as we examined it.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
That system also pulls out the occasionalrottenapplein the barrel and there are one or two of those even in the best organisations.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
To the trade unionists who work with him he may be therottenapplein the barrel.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Of course, there is the oddrottenapple.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Are we to be blamed for our curiosity in wishing to know the identity of the constituent parts of thisrottenapple?
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
When we talk about responsible journalism, there are good and bad newspapers, but onerottenappleaffects the whole barrel.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
This is not all to be accounted for by the "onerottenapplein the barrel" explanation, which is often quoted by police officers.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
If one uses therottenapplein the barrel analogy, society is no different.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
They believe our world will fall like arottenappleinto their basket if they wait long enough.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
The otherrottenappleis the postponement of the raising of the school-leaving age.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Experience shows that arottenapplein the barrel usually takes one good one, if not more, with it.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
In a care home, where people are appointed to oversee what is happening, there are checks and balances; other staff will spot arottenapple.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
It is pretty useless in improving an appellate structure from something which is, so to speak, arottenapple.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Can we not understand that this is arottenappleeven before it joins?
FromEuroparl Parallel Corpus - English
If something is arottenappleto the core, one must take action whenever it is justified and when the evidence is clear.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
There is bound to be onerottenapplein one barrel out of 10.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Using a perhaps unhappy analogy, one can usually recognise therottenapplein the barrel of those with whom one is working.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
Want to learn more?
Go to the definition ofrotten
Go to the definition ofapple
See other collocations withapple