debug

verb

de·​bug (ˌ)dē-ˈbəg How to pronounce debug (audio)
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

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 The company’s extremely logically named Honeycomb for Frontend Observability product offers debugging capabilities aligned to the frontend of applications. Adrian Bridgwater, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024 Browser developer tools are essential for debugging AJAX requests and responses. Nick Damoulakis, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2024 Requests to complete some form of pre-employment test have also been used, along with debugging exercises that execute non-standard scripts. Davey Winder, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024 After a final, near-sleepless night of debugging and panicked last-minute fixes, Shellphish submitted its program at the 9 a.m. deadline. Joseph Menn, Washington Post, 27 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for debug 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'debug.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of debug was in 1944

Dictionary Entries Near debug

Cite this Entry

“Debug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/debug. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

debug

verb
de·​bug (ˈ)dē-ˈbəg How to pronounce debug (audio)
: to remove mistakes from
debug a computer program

More from Merriam-Webster on debug

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