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
  • Elma follows police detective Elma (Unnur Birna Backman), who returns to her hometown having fled a romantic affair that left her in pieces, and is assigned to the local force as a woman’s body is found lying at the foot of a lighthouse.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Following the full-scale invasion, many Ukrainians fled their homes and became refugees in other European countries as well as the United Kingdom and the US.
    — Lucy Abbersteen, Allure, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of fled
Verb
  • Eisner, Diller’s second in command, departed for Disney when he didn’t get promoted, and he was soon followed out the door by another rising young executive, Jeffrey Katzenberg.
    — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Bailey departed Burberry in 2018 and was succeeded as chief creative officer by Riccardo Tisci, formerly the creative director at Givenchy (Marco Gobbetti took over Bailey’s CEO role in 2017).
    — Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of departed
Verb
  • After the physical altercation, both men retreated toward their vehicles after witness Jamie Jedlinsky, 70, reportedly stepped in to defuse the situation.
    — Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Shares exploded higher by as much as 211% but retreated from those peaks and are starting to form an interesting baseline.
    — Jay Woods, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of retreated
Verb
  • During that time the female lead Rosa Salazar exited, by all accounts a mutual decision, and Fumero came on board.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Éric Vallat, a former cognac executive who joined Lacoste as its chief executive officer last year, has exited the brand.
    — Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of exited
Verb
  • Following the win, Smart bolted straight for the visitors section, slinging his visor around in the air while the Georgia fans and Kirby's wife waited to embrace his family.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026
  • And unlike its siblings, the subframe on the T40 is permanently welded to the main frame as opposed to being bolted on.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of bolted
Verb
  • This week, SpaceX moved one step closer to its goal of building its direct-to-device Starlink Mobile service after the FCC approved the aerospace company’s application to deploy and operate 15,000 next-generation Starlink satellites.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 9 Oct. 2026
  • On the day Erica and Peter moved into 150 Charles, their attorney claims, they were greeted with a cluttered and dirty space that didn’t square with the $26,000-a-month rent.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of moved
Verb
  • Under the hot Austin, Texas, sun in the summer of 2020, three future NFL players escaped the confines of pandemic restrictions to train together at a local facility.
    — Sam Jane, Denver Post, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Although television coverage suggested the capital had escaped the widespread structural destruction visible in communities closer to the epicenter, the earthquake caused major disruptions to daily life.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of escaped
Verb
  • Not long after, Singh got an email from someone named Oppenheim.
    — Aaron Couch, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026
  • One of them got his start with money borrowed from his sister’s brothel.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 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 14 Oct. 2026.

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