1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

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

Relevance

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
  • The correspondence helped convince Anders, who fled the Nazis for American exile in 1936, that different kinds of evil cause different kinds of harm.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Russia is holding parliamentary elections, the first since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in a political landscape in which critical opposition is effectively nonexistent, with opponents barred or having fled the country.
    — Zahra Ullah, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of fled
Verb
  • The show’s cast from last season will largely return, save for Bowen Yang, who left SNL midway through last season, and Chloe Fineman, who departed over the summer.
    — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Tariq departed the following year over production delays, and Ali confirmed in July that the project was officially dead.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of departed
Verb
  • After Diana’s death following an August 1997 car crash, Jane retreated from the public eye.
    — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Luckily, a Colts staffer hustled onto the field to get his attention, so Doyle retreated to the sideline and kept studying his play sheet.
    — Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of retreated
Verb
  • That was enough for Misiorowski, who exited after throwing 82 pitches — 43 at 100 mph or more — to strengthen his grasp on his first Cy Young Award.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Jackson Hospital exited Chapter 11 this week after reaching a four-year agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.
    — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of exited
Verb
  • Kiffin built Ole Miss into a national championship program, and then bolted before finishing the job.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
  • When Walker bounced out of a fourth and 1 scrum and bolted 60 yards for a touchdown in the Chiefs’ 31-10 trouncing of Denver, all at once the astounding was entirely familiar.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of bolted
Verb
  • She’s haunted by her divorce from Donn, and her greatest fear is being alone, which is becoming more and more of a real possibility, especially since her family has largely moved away.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Diane was a blender of hair and plaid, while Aurora moved solidly, pushing a wheelbarrow.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of moved
Verb
  • Tommy Nance escaped a jam in the eighth, and Travis Adams retired the side in order in the ninth for his third save.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Tommy Nance escaped a jam in the eighth and Travis Adams retired the side in order in the ninth for his third save.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of escaped
Verb
  • One thing that has changed since the beginning of the charter is the relationship between cabinmates Kat and Gen, who used to be close until Gen got a little too comfortable.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • In 2016 Erickson’s Severance pilot made an annual list of best unproduced genre screenplays by BloodList—where other successes such as Bird Box (2018) and Don’t Worry Darling (2022) got their start.
    — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of got

Browse Nearby Words

bugged off
bugged out
bugger
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bugged out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugged%20out. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nemesis

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All