plural bugs
1
a
: any of an order (Hemiptera and especially its suborder Heteroptera) of insects (such as an assassin bug or chinch bug) that have sucking mouthparts, forewings thickened at the base, and incomplete metamorphosis and are often economic pests
called also true bug
b
: any of various small arthropods (such as a beetle or spider) resembling the true bugs
c
: any of several insects (such as a head louse) commonly considered obnoxious
2
: an unexpected defect, fault, flaw, or imperfection
The software was full of bugs.
3
a
: a microorganism (such as a bacterium or virus) especially when causing illness or disease
b
: an often unspecified or nonspecific sickness presumed to be caused by such a microorganism
a stomach bug
4
: a concealed listening device
5
: a sudden enthusiasm
6
: enthusiast
a camera bug
7
: a prominent person
8
informal + disparaging
: a mentally unsound person
9
[from its designation by an asterisk on race programs]
: a weight allowance given apprentice jockeys
bugged; bugging
2
: to plant a concealed microphone in
: to lose one's composure : freak
—often used with out
bugged; bugging
of the eyes
: to cause to bug
his eyes were bugged with horror
Synonyms
Examples of bug in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Jonathan Karp, the publisher of Simon & Schuster, bugged me for years to write something.
—Steven Levy, WIRED, 15 Feb. 2024
In recent days Tarkov players have found instances of armors being bugged and blocking too much or too little damage and no one really seems to be sure why.
—Mike Stubbs, Forbes, 11 Feb. 2024
His daily routine gets thrown some curveballs — a flaky coworker (Tokio Emoto) bugs him for quick cash to impress a hipster girlfriend (Aoi Yamada), an impromptu late-night beer with a terminally ill man (Masahiro Kômoto), the unexpected appearance of his niece (Arisa Nakano).
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Feb. 2024
Above all, the thing that seems to be bugging people about Maestro is Cooper himself.
—Vulture, 3 Feb. 2024
If a person has neck pain that’s bugging them, they might be tempted to use a massage gun quite frequently, Neira explained.
—Julia Landwehr, Health, 26 Jan. 2024
A lot of my family and friends were bugging me about trying out for this role.
—EW.com, 17 Nov. 2023
If blackheads are bugging you, try Clinique’s Blackhead Solutions Self-Heating Blackhead Extractor, and for those unexpected pimples, the Peace Out Acne Salicylic Acid Day & Night Duo pimple patches help save the day—and are less than $20.
—Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 15 Dec. 2023
Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2024
Barely any fish breaking the surface of ponds to bite at bugs.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024
Five Revs players were hit with a stomach bug late this week, including five starters.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2024
Some of the updates in this free update include performance and quality mode settings, increased frames per second and resolution, bug fixes and support for widescreen and ultra-widescreen support.
—The Arizona Republic, 25 Apr. 2024
Flowers, sweet garden bugs, and a flurry of color are in all levels of their creations.
—Daisy Shaw-Ellis, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2024
In addition to finding unhealthy levels of chemicals used by farmers to control bugs, fungi and weeds, one food — green beans — had residues of a pesticide that hasn't been allowed for use on vegetables in the U.S. for more than a decade.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024
Surely there's some kind of bug and the Michelin Guide website is just not finding anything in Arizona.
—The Arizona Republic, 17 Apr. 2024
But an oversight within his sloppy code work creates a bug within it.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2024
Verb
Apparently that last part really bugs the Lakers superstar.
—Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Jonathan Karp, the publisher of Simon & Schuster, bugged me for years to write something.
—Steven Levy, WIRED, 15 Feb. 2024
In recent days Tarkov players have found instances of armors being bugged and blocking too much or too little damage and no one really seems to be sure why.
—Mike Stubbs, Forbes, 11 Feb. 2024
His daily routine gets thrown some curveballs — a flaky coworker (Tokio Emoto) bugs him for quick cash to impress a hipster girlfriend (Aoi Yamada), an impromptu late-night beer with a terminally ill man (Masahiro Kômoto), the unexpected appearance of his niece (Arisa Nakano).
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Feb. 2024
Above all, the thing that seems to be bugging people about Maestro is Cooper himself.
—Vulture, 3 Feb. 2024
If a person has neck pain that’s bugging them, they might be tempted to use a massage gun quite frequently, Neira explained.
—Julia Landwehr, Health, 26 Jan. 2024
A lot of my family and friends were bugging me about trying out for this role.
—EW.com, 17 Nov. 2023
If blackheads are bugging you, try Clinique’s Blackhead Solutions Self-Heating Blackhead Extractor, and for those unexpected pimples, the Peace Out Acne Salicylic Acid Day & Night Duo pimple patches help save the day—and are less than $20.
—Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 15 Dec. 2023
Noun
By Adrienne LaFrance Somewhere in the hills above Malibu, drenched in California sunshine and sitting side by side in a used white Volkswagen bug, two teenage boys realized they were lost.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2024
Barely any fish breaking the surface of ponds to bite at bugs.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024
Five Revs players were hit with a stomach bug late this week, including five starters.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2024
Some of the updates in this free update include performance and quality mode settings, increased frames per second and resolution, bug fixes and support for widescreen and ultra-widescreen support.
—The Arizona Republic, 25 Apr. 2024
Flowers, sweet garden bugs, and a flurry of color are in all levels of their creations.
—Daisy Shaw-Ellis, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2024
In addition to finding unhealthy levels of chemicals used by farmers to control bugs, fungi and weeds, one food — green beans — had residues of a pesticide that hasn't been allowed for use on vegetables in the U.S. for more than a decade.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024
Surely there's some kind of bug and the Michelin Guide website is just not finding anything in Arizona.
—The Arizona Republic, 17 Apr. 2024
But an oversight within his sloppy code work creates a bug within it.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bug.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to bug
Dictionary Entries Near bug
Cite this Entry
“Bug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bug. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bug
1 of 2 noun1
a
: an insect (as a beetle) or other creeping or crawling invertebrate animal (as a centipede)
b
: any of an order of insects (as bedbugs and stinkbugs) that have sucking mouthparts and the forewings part leathery and part membranous and that undergo incomplete metamorphosis
called also true bug
2
: an unexpected mistake or imperfection
a bug in a computer program
3
: a disease-producing germ
also
: a disease caused by it
4
: fan entry 3, enthusiast
a camera bug
5
: a concealed listening device
bug
2 of 2 verb
bugged; bugging
1
: to place a concealed microphone in
3
: freak entry 3
—usually used with out
Medical Definition
bug
noun1
a
: an insect or other creeping or crawling invertebrate animal (as a spider)
—not used technically
b
: any of various insects (as the bedbug or cockroach) commonly considered obnoxious
c
: any of the order Hemiptera and especially of its suborder Heteroptera of insects that have sucking mouthparts, forewings thickened at the base, and that lack a pupal stage between the immature stages and the adult
called also true bug
2
a
: a microorganism (such as a bacterium or virus) especially when causing illness or disease
Enterococcus faecium, an especially nasty bug, often shrugs off even vancomycin, a last-resort antibiotic.—Avery Comarow, U.S. News & World Report
Avery Comarow, U.S. News & World Report
b
: an often unspecified or nonspecific sickness presumed to be caused by such a microorganism
a stomach bug
suffering from the flu bug
Geographical Definition
Bug
geographical name
1
river over 450 miles (720 kilometers) long in central Europe rising in western Ukraine, forming part of Ukraine–Poland and Poland–Belarus borders, and flowing into the Vistula River in Poland
2
river over 500 miles (805 kilometers) long in southwestern Ukraine flowing southeast to the estuary of the Dnieper River
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