bug out
Britishverb
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Bulge, as in The news will make her eyes bug out with astonishment . This expression was originally used literally for bulging eyes and later used more loosely as a sign of astonishment. [ Colloquial ; mid-1800s]
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Leave, run out, as in This conference is a bore; I think I'll bug out . This usage originated as military slang for deserting and today is used more loosely. [ Slang ; c. 1950]
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.
And yet, this phenomenon still makes jaws drop and eyes bug out of heads.
From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2026
Esposito plays him with big acting choices you don’t often see on TV: He laughs, he sobs, he whispers, and his eyes bug out of his head.
From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2020
I had the camera app bug out a few times, but generally it's been fast and stable.
From The Verge ● Aug. 18, 2017
The numbers are so outlandish that even when you smush games together, your eyes bug out.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 27, 2017
She blinks, and her eyes bug out as she sees my robe, and then they wander around, looking for my face.
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
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.
