bugging out

verb

present participle of bug out
1
as in retreating
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 departing
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 bugging out There’s a wonderful small moment midway through the season where Reilly’s lightly bugging out in his dingy apartment, shaking out his limbs at sharp, insectile angles to get comfortable. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 26 May 2026 Her baby's father answered the door with his eyes bugging out, and Frierson barged in to find two other guys, needles, spoons and powder on the table. — Brad Schmitt, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugging out
  1. retreating
  2. departing
  3. fleeing
  4. exiting
  5. flying
  6. moving
  7. bolting
  8. running along
Verb
  • French social media users criticized Mbappé for retreating on his comments.
    — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The pool is the best spot to take in the sunset before retreating to the open-air dining space for good eats and conversation.
    — Erika Owen, Architectural Digest, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of retreating
Verb
  • At Prague's Vaclav Havel Airport, spokesperson Denisa Hejtmánková said a total of nine flights were threatened, including arriving flights from Denmark, Spain and Britain, and departing flights to the Netherlands, Cyprus, Romania, Italy and Britain.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Departing from Dallas In Porter’s view, departing is the most stressful part of air travel.
    — Lauren Harano, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of departing
Verb
  • The video shows the man fleeing from the officer, then turning around and starting to chase him, before pointing a weapon in the officer's direction.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • In the city known as the birthplace of the film industry, Hollywood jobs have been fleeing for years for cheaper locales.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of fleeing
Verb
  • Stanichi is exiting Mattel at a transformative moment for the toy and entertainment company as well (though conversations about this move have been said to be months in the making).
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2026
  • At the same time, insurers are increasing premiums and, in some cases, exiting high-risk markets altogether, leaving some homeowners more exposed.
    — Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of exiting
Verb
  • In some ways, flying a plane is easier than driving a car, at least as far as automation is concerned.
    — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2026
  • So Argo’s first Chiron mission is flying on an undisclosed new commercial rocket, definitely a calculated risk.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of flying
Verb
  • This reduces computational requirements, allowing the system to operate on a moving robot with limited processing resources.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Over the last few decades, the percentage of children diagnosed with myopia has moved steadily upward, while age at diagnosis appears to be moving down.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of moving
Verb
  • Mulch cool-season vegetables to delay bolting and keep them producing longer.
    — Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 29 Oct. 2026
  • The companies that capture that value will redesign work around their most creative people, rather than bolting AI onto old processes and counting the empty chairs.
    — Jay Kaplan, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of bolting
Verb
  • Later, she’s entertained by a mouse running along the baseboard of one of London’s more elegant restaurants.
    — Sarah Crompton, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Spanning 40 miles as the crow flies, the Suwalki Gap is a corridor of land, running along the Polish/Lithuanian border, that connects the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to Belarus.
    — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of running along

Browse Nearby Words

bugging off
bugging out
buggy
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Cite this Entry

“Bugging out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugging%20out. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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