definitions

debug

[ dee-buhg ]
/ diˈbʌg /
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verb (used with object), de·bugged, de·bug·ging. Informal.

to detect and remove defects or errors from.
to remove electronic bugs from (a room or building).
Computers. to detect and remove errors from (a computer program).
to rid (a garden, plant, etc.) of insect pests, as by the application of a pesticide.

Nearby words

debt swap, debt, public, debtor, debtor nation, debud, debug, debulking operation, debunk, deburr, debus, debussy

Origin of debug

First recorded in 1940–45; de- + bug1

Related forms

de·bug·ger, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for debug

debug

/ (diːˈbʌɡ) informal /

verb -bugs, -bugging or -bugged (tr)

to locate and remove concealed microphones from (a room, etc)
to locate and remove defects in (a device, system, plan, etc)
to remove insects from

noun

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

Word Origin for debug

C20: from de- + bug 1
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