debug

American  

[dee-buhg] / diˈbʌg /

verb (used with object)

debugs, present (3rd person singular) debugged, past participle, past debugging present participle

1. to detect and remove defects or errors from.

2. to remove electronic bugs from (a room or building).

3. Computers. to detect and remove errors from (a computer program).

4. to rid (a garden, plant, etc.) of insect pests, as by the application of a pesticide.

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debug British  

/ diːˈbʌɡ /

verb

1. to locate and remove concealed microphones from (a room, etc)

2. to locate and remove defects in (a device, system, plan, etc)

3. to remove insects from

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noun

1. 1. something, esp a computer program, that locates and removes defects in (a device, system, etc)

   2. ( as modifier )

      a debug program

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• debugger
  noun

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has debugged
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have debugged
  perfect
• debugs
  singular 3rd person
• has been debugging
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• am debugging
  progressive 1st person singular
• have been debugging
  perfect progressive
• is debugging
  progressive 3rd person singular
• debugging
  participle
• are debugging
  progressive

Past

• had debugged
  perfect
• were debugging
  progressive plural
• debugged
  participle
• was debugging
  progressive singular
• had been debugging
  perfect progressive
• debugged
  simple

Future

• will debug
  simple
• will have debugged
  perfect
• will be debugging
  progressive
• will have been debugging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of debug

First recorded in 1940–45; de- + bug ¹

Example Sentences

Called Debug, the project targets Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are native to Africa but have infiltrated nearly half of California’s counties since first being detected in the state in 2013.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026

Related Words

• unscramble