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
bugged; bugging
2
: to plant a concealed microphone in
: to lose one's composure : freak
—often used with out
bugged; bugging
of the eyes
: to cause to bug
his eyes were bugged with horror
Synonyms
Examples of bug in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
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
The Arizona Republic, 17 Apr. 2024
But an oversight within his sloppy code work creates a bug within it.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2024
Where is the closest area to Ohio to see cicadas in 2024?
Parts of western Indiana and all of Illinois will be the best bet for Ohioans looking to see a swarm of bugs within a couple of hours drive.
—Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 12 Apr. 2024
Likewise, at times residents struggled with a lack of air conditioning during a heat wave and bed bug infestations.
—John Tuohy, The Indianapolis Star, 10 Apr. 2024
The cicadas are coming: What to expect from the double brood emergence of trillions of breeding, singing bugs
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has the ability to designate provisions for early implementation of these plans, per a senior administration official.
—Arthur Jones Ii, ABC News, 8 Apr. 2024
This 18-liter one by REI Co-op has held up to years of wear and tear — it’s seen the wet bottoms of kayaks, multiple major sunscreen and bug spray spills, and too many trails to count.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 8 Apr. 2024
The company’s April updates also brought updates and bug fixes to Pixel Watches and Pixel phones from the 5A and up.
—Wes Davis, The Verge, 3 Apr. 2024
Those beautiful red berries are not easy to grow and farmers tend to rely on pesticides and soil fumigants to try and ward off bugs.
—Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 3 Apr. 2024
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
Surely there's some kind of bug and the Michelin Guide website is just not finding anything in Arizona.
—The Arizona Republic, 17 Apr. 2024
But an oversight within his sloppy code work creates a bug within it.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2024
Where is the closest area to Ohio to see cicadas in 2024?
Parts of western Indiana and all of Illinois will be the best bet for Ohioans looking to see a swarm of bugs within a couple of hours drive.
—Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 12 Apr. 2024
Likewise, at times residents struggled with a lack of air conditioning during a heat wave and bed bug infestations.
—John Tuohy, The Indianapolis Star, 10 Apr. 2024
The cicadas are coming: What to expect from the double brood emergence of trillions of breeding, singing bugs
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has the ability to designate provisions for early implementation of these plans, per a senior administration official.
—Arthur Jones Ii, ABC News, 8 Apr. 2024
This 18-liter one by REI Co-op has held up to years of wear and tear — it’s seen the wet bottoms of kayaks, multiple major sunscreen and bug spray spills, and too many trails to count.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 8 Apr. 2024
The company’s April updates also brought updates and bug fixes to Pixel Watches and Pixel phones from the 5A and up.
—Wes Davis, The Verge, 3 Apr. 2024
Those beautiful red berries are not easy to grow and farmers tend to rely on pesticides and soil fumigants to try and ward off bugs.
—Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 3 Apr. 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.
Articles Related to bug
Dictionary Entries Near bug
Cite this Entry
“Bug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bug. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bug
1 of 2 noun1
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
3
: freak entry 3
—usually used with out
Medical Definition
bug
noun1
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
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
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
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