bug

1
[ buhg ]
/ bʌg /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR bug ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

verb (used with object), bugged, bug·ging. Informal.

to install a secret listening device in (a room, building, etc.) or on (a telephone or other device): The phone had been bugged.
to bother; annoy; pester: She's bugging him to get her into show business.

Verb Phrases

bug off, Slang. to leave or depart, especially rapidly: I can't help you, so bug off.
bug out, Slang. to flee in panic; show panic or alarm.

QUIZZES

TAKE ROUND 2 OF OUR PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ!

Here is our second set of teacher-selected PSAT vocabulary words. Do you know the meanings of these terms?
Question 1 of 10
advocate
to give up possession or occupancy of.
to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly.
to pronounce or decree by judicial sentence.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms for bug

    put a bug in someone's ear, to give someone a subtle suggestion; hint: We put a bug in his ear about a new gymnasium.

Origin of bug

1
1615–25; 1885–90 for def 4; 1910–15 for def 5a; 1915–20 for def 14; 1945–50 for def 15; earlier bugge beetle, apparently alteration of Middle English budde, Old English -budda beetle; sense “leave” obscurely related to other senses and perhaps of distinct orig.

OTHER WORDS FROM bug

un·bugged, adjective

Words nearby bug

buffy, buffy coat, bufotalin, bufotenine, bufotoxin, bug, bug light, bug off, bug out, bug-eyed, bug-juice

Definition for bug (2 of 3)

bug2
[ buhg ]
/ bʌg /

noun Obsolete.

a bogy; hobgoblin.

Origin of bug

2
1350–1400; Middle English bugge scarecrow, demon, perhaps < Welsh bwg ghost

Definition for bug (3 of 3)

Bug
[ buhg; Polish, Russian book ]
/ bʌg; Polish, Russian buk /

noun

Also called Western Bug. a river in E central Europe, rising in W Ukraine and forming part of the boundary between Poland and Ukraine, flowing NW to the Vistula River in Poland. 450 miles (725 km) long.
Also called Southern Bug. a river in SW Ukraine flowing SE to the Dnieper estuary. About 530 miles (850 km) long.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to bug

microbe, virus, disease, infection, germ, pest, ant, flea, beetle, breakdown, flaw, defect, failure, error, trouble, problem, annoy, harass, pester, irk

Example sentences from the Web for bug

British Dictionary definitions for bug (1 of 4)

bug1
/ (bʌɡ) /

noun

verb bugs, bugging or bugged informal

See also bug out

Word Origin for bug

C16: of uncertain origin; perhaps related to Old English budda beetle

British Dictionary definitions for bug (2 of 4)

bug2
/ (bʌɡ) /

noun

obsolete an evil spirit or spectre; hobgoblin

Word Origin for bug

C14 bugge, perhaps from Middle Welsh bwg ghost. See also bugbear, bugaboo

British Dictionary definitions for bug (3 of 4)

bug3
/ (bʌɡ) /

verb

a past tense and past participle of big 2

British Dictionary definitions for bug (4 of 4)

Bug
/ (Russian buk) /

noun

Also called: Southern Bug a river in E Europe, rising in W Ukraine and flowing southeast to the Dnieper estuary and the Black Sea. Length: 853 km (530 miles)
Also called: Western Bug a river in E Europe, rising in SW Ukraine and flowing northwest to the River Vistula in Poland, forming part of the border between Poland and Ukraine. Length: 724 km (450 miles)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for bug

bug
[ bŭg ]

n.

A true bug, specifically one having a beaklike structure that allows piercing and sucking.
An insect or similar organism, such as a centipede or an earwig.
A disease-producing microorganism, such as a flu bug.
The illness or disease so produced.
A defect or difficulty, as in a system or design.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Scientific definitions for bug

bug
[ bŭg ]

An insect belonging to the suborder Heteroptera. See more at true bug.
An insect, spider, or similar organism. Not in scientific use.

Usage

The word bug is often used to refer to tiny creatures that crawl along, such as insects and even small animals that are not insects, such as spiders and millipedes. But for scientists the word has a much narrower meaning. In the strictest terms bugs are those insects that have mouthparts adapted for piercing and sucking. The mouthparts of these bugs are contained in a beak-shaped structure. Thus scientists would classify a louse but not a beetle or a cockroach as a bug. In fact, scientists often call lice and their relatives true bugs to distinguish them better from what everyone else calls “bugs.”
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for bug

bug

A generic term that describes a malfunction of undetermined origin in a computer or other electronic device.

notes for bug

The term originated in the 1940s when the examination of a large computer revealed that an actual insect had landed on one of the circuits, shorting it out and shutting the machine down.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with bug

bug
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.