buggy

¹ American  

[buhg-ee] / ˈbʌg i /

adjective

buggier, buggiest

1. infested with bugs.

   We spent one last muggy, buggy summer at the campsite up North, then started vacationing in the Southwest.

2. Computers. (of software) containing errors or imperfections that reduce reliability, performance, or user experience.

   The game’s load times were slow, and the autosave was buggy.

3. Slang. crazy; insane; peculiar.

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buggy ² American  

[buhg-ee] / ˈbʌg i /

noun

plural

buggies

1. a light, four-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage with a single seat and a transverse spring.

2. (in India) a light, two-wheeled carriage with a folding top.

3. baby carriage.

4. Older Slang. an automobile, especially an old or dilapidated one.

5. a small wagon or truck for transporting heavy materials, as coal in a mine or freshly mixed concrete at a construction site, for short distances.

6. Metallurgy. a car, as for transporting ingots or charges for open-hearth furnaces.

7. any of various small vehicles adapted for use on a given terrain, as on sand beaches or swamps.

8. British. a light, two-wheeled, open carriage.

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buggy ¹ British  

/ ˈbʌɡɪ /

noun

1. a light horse-drawn carriage having either four wheels (esp in the US and Canada) or two wheels (esp in Britain and India)

2. short for beach buggy

3. short for Baby Buggy See baby carriage

4. a small motorized vehicle designed for a particular purpose

   golf buggy

   moon buggy

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buggy ² British  

/ ˈbʌɡɪ /

adjective

1. infested with bugs

2. slang insane

3. informal (of a system or machine, esp a computer program) containing errors or faults

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Usage

What does buggy mean? As an adjective, buggy means full of bugs or infested with bugs. This can literally refer to insects, as in a buggy swamp, or it can refer to the kind of bugs found in software or machines—glitches and programming errors. As a noun, buggy refers to a small, wheeled cart or other vehicle, especially a horse-drawn carriage (often called a horse and buggy). There are several different vehicles that can be called a buggy. Example: The beta version of the app is a little buggy, so we’ll need to do some additional testing before we release it to the users.

Other Word Forms

• bugginess
  noun

Etymology

Origin of buggy¹

First recorded in 1690–1700; bug ¹ + -y ¹

Origin of buggy²

First recorded in 1750–60; of obscure origin

Explanation

A buggy is a cart with wheels that's pulled by a horse. In the 19th century, the most popular way to take short trips was in a horse and buggy. Most people think of a horse pulling a carriage when they hear the word buggy, although you can use the term for other small vehicles, whether they're electric or powered by gasoline — like a golf buggy. If you use buggy to describe a camp site, however, you mean it's infested with insects. The origins of both meanings are uncertain, although the Middle English bugge, "something frightening" might be one root of the "full of bugs" definition.

Example Sentences

Supt Kirsten Buggy said it was "such a privilege" to meet the King during his visit to see emergency responders.

From BBC • Oct. 20, 2025

Buggy cup-holder caption machines and ill-fitting glasses have long been the standard in movie theaters, which are required to provide captioning and audio description devices to moviegoers who need them.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2024

A pile of about a dozen new Buggy Balls, resting on the grass nearby, shimmers in the mid-afternoon sunlight.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2023

For the limited edition "My Ami Buggy" version, the roof is replaced with canvas that can be rolled back and metal tube gates replace the doors.

From Reuters • Jun. 22, 2022

“In fact, I would have taken everything. Buggy too, if that’s what I was doing.”

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison