bedbug

noun

bed·​bug ˈbed-ˌbəg 

: a wingless bloodsucking hemipterous bug (especially Cimex lectularius) sometimes infesting houses and especially beds and feeding on human blood

Illustration of bedbug

Examples of bedbug in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Check our guide on How To Keep Bedbugs Away for tips on how to check your hotel room for bedbugs. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 27 June 2026

In Georgia, chicken farmers are beleaguered by bedbugs, which have hopped from hotel rooms to poultry farms, and from there to workers’ homes. — Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 29 June 2026

From a chaotic immigration vote at City Hall to bedbugs sending CDE workers home, Sacramento had no shortage of news this week. — Sacbee.com, 27 June 2026

But that was quickly dismissed after Turkish media reported that their hotel was dealing with a bedbug infestation, with the insecticide gas believed to have seeped into their room through a bathroom ventilation duct. — CBS News, 26 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1694, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

bedbug

noun

bed·​bug ˈbed-ˌbəg 

: a wingless bloodsucking bug sometimes infesting houses and especially beds

Medical Definition

bedbug

noun

bed·​bug ˈbed-ˌbəg 

: a wingless bloodsucking bug (Cimex lectularius) sometimes infesting houses and especially beds and feeding on human blood

called also chinch