debug
Americanverb (used with object)
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to detect and remove defects or errors from.
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to remove electronic bugs from (a room or building).
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Computers. to detect and remove errors from (a computer program).
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to rid (a garden, plant, etc.) of insect pests, as by the application of a pesticide.
verb
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to locate and remove concealed microphones from (a room, etc)
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to locate and remove defects in (a device, system, plan, etc)
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to remove insects from
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has debuggedperfect 3rd person singular
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have debuggedperfect
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debugssingular 3rd person
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has been debuggingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am debuggingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been debuggingperfect progressive
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is debuggingprogressive 3rd person singular
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debuggingparticiple
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are debuggingprogressive
Past
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had debuggedperfect
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were debuggingprogressive plural
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debuggedparticiple
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was debuggingprogressive singular
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had been debuggingperfect progressive
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debuggedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of debug
Vocabulary lists containing debug
Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Computer Science and Technology - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Software developers, for instance, routinely use AI tools to generate boilerplate code, test functions and debug routines—tasks that once consumed hours.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026
That should help debug systems and also benefit safety, the researchers say: If an AI is planning something dangerous, a human operator can tell and can intervene.
From Science Magazine • Jan. 8, 2024
“We’ll likely see more of those tools emerge in the coming year,” including to help write or debug code.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2024
Bard will be able to code in 20 programming languages including Java, C++ and Python, and can also help debug and explain code to users, Google said on Friday.
From Reuters • Apr. 21, 2023
"Sometimes the easiest way to show somebody how to program or debug something was simply to sit down at the terminal and do it for them," explains Steele.
From Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software by Williams, Sam
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
