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true bug

American  

noun

  1. bug.

true bug Scientific  
/ tro̅o̅ /

  1. Any of various insects of the group Heteroptera. True bugs usually have soft flat bodies, well-developed antennae, and stink glands. They include the water bugs, water striders, bedbugs, cinch bugs, lace bugs, and assassin bugs. Some scientists classify the true bugs as a suborder of the order Hemiptera rather than as a separate insect order.

  2. See Note at bug

Etymology

Origin of true bug

First recorded in 1890–95

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.

What is even scarier, as the largest European true bug and the largest European water insect and measuring up to 12 cm, it has a reputation of inflicting very painful bites when handled carelessly.

From Science Daily • Mar. 18, 2024

This peculiarity distinguishes it from the true bug, which has four wings.

From Agriculture for Beginners Revised Edition by Burkett, Charles William

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.