debug

verb

de·​bug (ˌ)dē-ˈbəg 

debugged; debugging; debugs

transitive verb

1

: to remove insects from

2

: to eliminate errors in or malfunctions of

debug a computer program

3

: to remove a concealed microphone or wiretapping device from

debugger noun

Synonyms

• amend
• correct
• rewrite
• remedy
• reform

Examples of debug in a Sentence

She's been hired to write and debug computer programs.

the computer program ran much faster after it was debugged

Recent Examples on the Web

After graduating from Princeton University in 1986 with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science, Bezos landed a gig debugging lines of code at a telecommunications startup, Fitel, before working as a product manager for Banker’s Trust, now part of Deutsche Bank. —Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 9 Oct. 2025

For professional developers who need an environment that combines coding, debugging, and collaboration, Visual Studio Professional 2022 remains one of the most complete options available. —PC Magazine, 6 Oct. 2025

When new features are developed at AI velocity, those service contracts can break, and debugging the resulting failures often falls on operations. —Ronak Desai, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025

Other firms including Alphabet Inc.’s Google are also building tools to help programmers streamline the process of writing and debugging code. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 2 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for debug

• humbug
• prodrug
• unplug
• antidrug
• mealybug
• multidrug
• chug
• doug
• drug
• dug
• hug
• jug

Kids Definition

debug

verb

de·​bug (ˈ)dē-ˈbəg 

: to remove mistakes from

debug a computer program