bug

UK: /ˈbʌɡ/

US: /bʌg/

US: 'bug': (bug); 'Bug': (bug; Pol., Russ. bo̅o̅k)

Inflections of 'bug' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

bugs

v 3rd person singular

bugging

v pres p

bugged

v past

bugged

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

bug¹ /bʌg/   n., v., bugged, bug•ging. 
n. [countable]

1. Insects Also called true bug. an insect having sucking mouthparts and thickened, leathery wings in front.
2. Insects (loosely) any insect.
3. Informal Terms Informal. a disease, or the microorganism causing the disease:
   I've got the flu bug.
4. Informal Terms, Computing a defect, error, or imperfection, as in computer software:
   Work out the bugs in that program.
5. Informal Terms [usually singular]
   • a short-lived interest in or enthusiasm for something:
     He's got the sports-car bug.
   • someone very enthusiastic about a certain subject;
     fan:
     Someone who is interested in photography is called a camera bug or a shutter bug.
6. Informal Terms a hidden microphone or other device used to hear or record information, etc.:
   planted the bug in his suspect's room.

v. 

7. Informal Terms to install a secret listening device in or on:
   [~ + object] The phone was bugged.
8. Informal Terms to annoy or pester:
   [~ + object] Quit bugging me!
9. (of the eyes) to bulge:
   [no object] His eyes bugged out of his head.
10. Slang Terms bug off, [no object] Slang. to leave or depart (often used as a command):
    "Come here often?'' he asked from the next barstool. "Bug off!'' she answered.

Idioms

11. Idioms put a bug in someone's ear, to give someone a subtle suggestion:
    put a bug in his ear to start counting up everyone's vacation days.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bug¹  (bug), n., v., bugged, bug•ging. 
n. 

1. Insects Also called true bug, hemipteran, hemipteron. a hemipterous insect.
2. Insects (loosely) any insect or insectlike invertebrate.
3. Informal Terms any microorganism, esp. a virus:
   He was laid up for a week by an intestinal bug.
4. Informal Terms, Computing a defect or imperfection, as in a mechanical device, computer program, or plan;
   glitch:
   The test flight discovered the bugs in the new plane.
5. Informal Terms
   • a person who has a great enthusiasm for something;
     fan or hobbyist:
     a hi-fi bug.
   • a craze or obsession:
     He's got the sports-car bug.
6. Informal Terms
   • a hidden microphone or other electronic eavesdropping device.
   • any of various small mechanical or electrical gadgets, as one to influence a gambling device, give warning of an intruder, or indicate location.
7. a mark, as an asterisk, that indicates a particular item, level, etc.
8. Sport [Horse Racing.] the five-pound weight allowance that can be claimed by an apprentice jockey.
9. Telecommunications a telegraph key that automatically transmits a series of dots when moved to one side and one dash when moved to the other.
10. Games [Poker Slang.] a joker that can be used only as an ace or as a wild card to fill a straight or a flush.
11. [Print.] a label printed on certain matter to indicate that it was produced by a union shop.
12. Sport any of various fishing plugs resembling an insect.
13. British Terms [Chiefly Brit.] a bedbug.
14. Idioms put a bug in someone's ear, to give someone a subtle suggestion;
    hint:
    We put a bug in his ear about a new gymnasium.

v.t. Informal. 

15. Informal Terms to install a secret listening device in (a room, building, etc.) or on (a telephone or other device):
    The phone had been bugged.
16. Informal Terms to bother;
    annoy;
    pester:
    She's bugging him to get her into show business.
17. bug off, [Slang.] to leave or depart, esp. rapidly:
    I can't help you, so bug off.
18. Slang Terms bug out, to flee in panic;
    show panic or alarm.

• 1615–25; 1885–90 for def. 4; 1910–15 for def. 5a; 1915–20 for def. 15; 1945–50 for def. 16; earlier bugge beetle, apparently alteration of Middle English budde, Old English -budda beetle; sense "leave'' obscurely related to other senses and perh. of distinct origin, originally

Synonyms

• 16. nag, badger, harass, plague, needle.

bug²  (bug), n. [Obs.]

1. a bogy;
   hobgoblin.

• Welsh bwg ghost
• Middle English bugge scarecrow, demon, perh. 1350–1400

Bug  (bug; Pol., Russ. bo̅o̅k), n. 

1. Place Names a river in E central Europe, rising in W Ukraine and forming part of the boundary between Poland and Ukraine, flowing NW to the Vistula River in Poland. 450 mi. (725 km) long.
2. Place Names a river in SW Ukraine flowing SE to the Dnieper estuary. ab. 530 mi. (850 km) long.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bug / bʌɡ/ noun

1. any insect of the order Hemiptera, esp any of the suborder Heteroptera, having piercing and sucking mouthparts specialized as a beak (rostrum)
   See also bedbug
2. any insect, such as the June bug or the Croton bug
3. a microorganism, esp a bacterium, that produces disease
4. a disease, esp a stomach infection, caused by a microorganism
5. an obsessive idea, hobby, etc; craze (esp in the phrases get the bug, be bitten by the bug, the bug bites, etc)
6. a person having such a craze; enthusiast
7. (often plural) an error or fault, as in a machine or system, esp in a computer or computer program
8. a concealed microphone used for recording conversations, as in spying

verb (bugs, bugging, bugged)

1. (transitive) to irritate; bother
2. (transitive) to conceal a microphone in (a room, etc)
3. (intransitive) (of eyes) to protrude

Etymology: 16th Century: of uncertain origin; perhaps related to Old English budda beetle

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Bug / bʌɡ/ noun

1. Also called: Southern Bug a river in E Europe, rising in W Ukraine and flowing southeast to the Dnieper estuary and the Black Sea. Length: 853 km (530 miles)
2. Also called: Western Bug a river in E Europe, rising in SW Ukraine and flowing northwest to the River Vistula in Poland, forming part of the border between Poland and Ukraine. Length: 724 km (450 miles)