bug

1 of 4

noun (1)

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

bug

2 of 4

verb (1)

bugged; bugging

transitive verb

1
: bother, annoy
don't bug me with petty details
2
: to plant a concealed microphone in

intransitive verb

: to lose one's composure : freak
often used with out

bug

3 of 4

verb (2)

bugged; bugging

intransitive verb

of the eyes : protrude, bulge
often used with out

transitive verb

of the eyes : to cause to bug
his eyes were bugged with horror

bug

4 of 4

noun (2)

obsolete

Examples of bug in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
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 Some of the things that bug me — bad grammar, bad signage — bugged Bill Gold, too. John Kelly, Washington Post, 16 Dec. 2023
Noun
As a child, Claudia was also bitten by the entertainment bug. Lynsey Eidell, Peoplemag, 10 Mar. 2024 He’s had the coaching bug since a church league dad handed him a clipboard and asked him to design his team’s final play. Billy Witz, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024 Google also patched six privilege-elevation bugs in the Framework, all of which have a high severity rating. Kate O'Flaherty, WIRED, 29 Feb. 2024 Obviously, the big improvements that needed to be made were to performance and bugs that were reintroduced with the patch. Mike Stubbs, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024 Some people speak as though they’ve been bit by an actual bug; others seem to imagine a virus that infects. M. R. O’Connor, The New Yorker, 29 Feb. 2024 That has been outright impossible for most people, and recent fixes made things worse, introducing a new loading bug that cut off previously unaffected players. Paul Tassi, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Poppy’s Playground: Nestled under a giant, 20-foot mushroom is Poppy’s Playground – a shaded play area featuring colorful flowers and bugs with a bountiful array of fun bouncing and climbing structures for the youngest of trolls. EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024 Things ramp up when a bug smacks into Fallon’s face in the midst of the chaos. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 28 Feb. 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.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

origin unknown

Verb (2)

probably from bug entry 1

Noun (2)

Middle English bugge hobgoblin; probably akin to Low German bögge goblin

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1594, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Verb (1)

1935, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Verb (2)

1865, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bug was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near bug

Cite this Entry

“Bug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bug. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bug

1 of 2 noun
1
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
2
3
: freak entry 3
usually used with out

Medical Definition

bug

noun
1
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
b
: an often unspecified or nonspecific sickness presumed to be caused by such a microorganism
a stomach bug
suffering from the flu bug

Legal Definition

bug

transitive verb
bugged; bugging
: to plant a concealed microphone in compare eavesdrop, wiretap

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

More from Merriam-Webster on bug

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!