bugged out

verb

past tense of bug out
1
as in fled
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening the ground soldiers bugged out just before the start of the aerial bombing

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in departed
to leave a place often for another the strange visitor bugged out without so much as saying a word

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bugged out Matt, your eyes just really bugged out! — Kate Aurthur, Variety, 21 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugged out
  1. fled
  2. departed
  3. retreated
  4. exited
  5. bolted
  6. moved
  7. escaped
  8. got
Verb
  • Other passengers hit the man, and when the bus stopped and the couple fled, a crowd of riders and people from the street chased them, until they were rescued by police.
    — Paul Bloom, New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Palestinian citizens of Israel, descendants of those who remained as the state of Israel was established in 1948 (when a majority of the prewar population was forcibly expelled or fled during the war) now make up about 20% of the population.
    — Ruth Sherlock, NPR, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of fled
Verb
  • Both teams departed to the capital on Tuesday for Sunday's game at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, home of the record 15-time European champion.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Hungary The bomb threats came a day after a Wizz Air flight that departed Luton airport near London was forced to make an emergency landing in Hungary after a bomb threat received while the plane was in the air.
    — Kirsten Grieshaber, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of departed
Verb
  • The officers then retreated from the SUV and gave the man commands to exit the vehicle with his hands up.
    — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 7 Nov. 2026
  • European indexes, which aren’t tilted as heavily toward technology stocks, also retreated modestly.
    — Stephanie Yang, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of retreated
Verb
  • Kon Knueppel exited to the locker room just six minutes into his season debut Wednesday night.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 5 Nov. 2026
  • With Hopkins’ appointment, Scott Miller, who previously served as WBD’s president of networks and streaming distribution, exited the company.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of exited
Verb
  • Explainability belongs in the same place, written into the design document from day one, next to the accuracy targets rather than bolted on before an audit.
    — Aritra Pal, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Within five minutes, the curtain was flung back again and one of the medical students bolted out of the department in a panic.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of bolted
Verb
  • West initially imagined his look through the imagery of the early papacy—particularly the period when the papal court moved from Rome to Avignon.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Two years after their wedding, the pair moved from their Kansas hometown to Nashville so Martina could pursue a music career.
    — Georgia Slater, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of moved
Verb
  • Three women inmates escaped a transport van in the midst of the fire chaos, and Mickey needed her troops to find the missing convicts instead of helping with the fire.
    — Megan Vick, Variety, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Stayner first became notable as the older brother of Steven Stayner, who escaped a 1972 kidnapping in 1980.
    — Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of escaped
Verb
  • When this 2008 institution from Elmhurst, Queens opened an outpost within Manhattan’s Chelsea Market, even more New Yorkers got access to its exceptional, home-style Thai cooking.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The Hurricanes never got closer than six points the rest of the night.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of got

Browse Nearby Words

bugged off
bugged out
bugger
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Cite this Entry

“Bugged out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugged%20out. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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