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bug

[ buhg ]

/ bʌg /

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See synonyms for bug on Thesaurus.com

noun

Also called true bug, hemipteran, hemipteron. a hemipterous insect.

(loosely) any insect or insectlike invertebrate.

Informal. any microorganism, especially a virus: He was laid up for a week by an intestinal bug.

Informal. a defect or imperfection, as in a mechanical device, computer program, or plan; glitch: The test flight discovered the bugs in the new plane.

Informal.

a person who has a great enthusiasm for something; fan or hobbyist: a hi-fi bug.
a craze or obsession: He's got the sports-car bug.

Informal.

a hidden microphone or other electronic eavesdropping device.
any of various small mechanical or electrical gadgets, as one to influence a gambling device, give warning of an intruder, or indicate location.

a mark, as an asterisk, that indicates a particular item, level, etc.

Horse Racing. the five-pound weight allowance that can be claimed by an apprentice jockey.

a telegraph key that automatically transmits a series of dots when moved to one side and one dash when moved to the other.

Poker Slang. a joker that can be used only as an ace or as a wild card to fill a straight or a flush.

Printing. a label printed on certain matter to indicate that it was produced by a union shop.

any of various fishing plugs resembling an insect.

Chiefly British. a bedbug.

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.

SYNONYMS FOR bug

15 nag, badger, harass, plague, needle.

See synonyms for bug on Thesaurus.com

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!

Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between it’s and its in this crafty quiz!

Question 1 of 12

On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

it's

its

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

First recorded in 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”; the sense “leave” (in bug off) is obscurely related to other senses and perhaps is of distinct origin

OTHER WORDS FROM bug

un·bugged, adjective

Words nearby bug

buffy, buffy coat, bufotalin, bufotenine, bufotoxin, bug, bugaboo, bugaku, bugaloo, Buganda, Bugatti

Definition for bug (2 of 3)

bug²

[ buhg ]

/ bʌg /

noun Obsolete.

a bogy; hobgoblin.

Origin of bug

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. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for bug

A scuffle with WordPress, the website-building service, erupted last week after Apple booted the developer from the App Store, preventing WordPress from issuing updates, such as bug fixes, to its iOS app.
Why Apple let WordPress walk but continues to fight Fortnite’s Epic Games|rhhackettfortune|August 25, 2020|Fortune
The secrecy, at least for the people who helped design the system, is a feature not a bug.
Federal Prosecutors Have Steve Bannon’s Murky Nonprofit in Their Sights|by Yeganeh Torbati|August 24, 2020|ProPublica
In Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard described her horror at watching a frog whose innards were liquefied and then sucked dry by a giant water bug.
Just Because It’s Natural Doesn’t Mean It’s Good - Issue 89: The Dark Side|David P. Barash|August 19, 2020|Nautilus
Google has now explained the massive search bug from yesterday was related to an issue with its indexing systems.
Google Search bug caused by issue with its ‘indexing systems’|Barry Schwartz|August 11, 2020|Search Engine Land

Google has had some search bugs over the past year, mostly around crawling and indexing.
A Google Search bug wreaked havoc on the search results Monday night|Barry Schwartz|August 11, 2020|Search Engine Land
I was thinking about retiring from modeling, but spending that time with them rekindled that bug.
Porn Stars on the Year in Porn: Drone Erotica, Belle Knox, and Wild Sex|Aurora Snow|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But is bug protein really any better than traditional protein sources, like chicken, or your go-to protein powder?
Is Cricket Flour the New Protein Powder?|DailyBurn|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Read on to find out what you need to know before whipping up bug-infused banana bread.
Is Cricket Flour the New Protein Powder?|DailyBurn|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Underneath, a miniature version of the bug-crazy man is revealed, himself thwacking away in an alternate dimension.
‘Interstellar’ Is Wildly Ambitious, Very Flawed, and Absolutely Worth Seeing|Marlow Stern|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their company, Ready to Go Survival, sells prepacked survival, or “bug out,” bags and kits.
Apocalypse Now: Preppers Are Gearing Up for Ebola|Nina Strochlic|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The men stood around bug-eyed and stared incredulously—all but High-Pockets.
Nine Men in Time|Noel Miller Loomis
Both were bitten by the gambling bug in Saratoga and went West, not to grow up with, but to fairly conquer the country.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
In reality it is only the female which is the lightning bug, for the male is not equipped with any lighting power.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge|Various
The proverb should read, "It is the early bird that catches the bug," and different birds have different ways of going about it.
The Red Cow and Her Friends|Peter McArthur
When a duck goes after a bug he acts much like a ball player trying to steal a base.
The Red Cow and Her Friends|Peter McArthur

British Dictionary definitions for bug (1 of 4)

bug¹

/ (bʌɡ) /

noun

any insect of the order Hemiptera, esp any of the suborder Heteroptera, having piercing and sucking mouthparts specialized as a beak (rostrum)See also assassin bug, bedbug, chinch bug

mainly US and Canadian any insect, such as the June bug or the Croton bug

informal

a microorganism, esp a bacterium, that produces disease
a disease, esp a stomach infection, caused by a microorganism

informal an obsessive idea, hobby, etc; craze (esp in the phrases get the bug, be bitten by the bug, the bug bites, etc)

informal a person having such a craze; enthusiast

(often plural) informal an error or fault, as in a machine or system, esp in a computer or computer program

informal a concealed microphone used for recording conversations, as in spying

US (in poker) a joker used as an ace or wild card to complete a straight or flush

verb bugs, bugging or bugged informal

(tr) to irritate; bother

(tr) to conceal a microphone in (a room, etc)

(intr) US (of eyes) to protrude

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.

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.

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.

Idioms and Phrases with bug

bug

In addition to the idioms beginning with bug

bug off
bug out

also see:

cute as a button (bug's ear)
put a bug in someone's ear
snug as a bug in a rug
what's eating (bugging) you

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bug

noun