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
The numbers are so outlandish that even when you smush games together, your eyes bug out.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 27, 2017
John Frankenheimer somehow turned art preservation into a white-knuckle actioner, as train saboteurs conspire to prevent Germany from looting artifacts as they bug out of Paris.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 29, 2017
Bugging In - Staying at your location until it is safer to bug out.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2015
Mrs. Kluck’s nostrils flare and her eyes bug out, prompting Principal Harrison to add, “This is a serious matter. At Poplar Springs Middle, we treat our equipment with respect.”
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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.
