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 exiting
to leave a place often for another
the strange visitor bugged out without so much as saying a word
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bugging out
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
Brad Schmitt, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugging out
Verb
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The future will not be secured by tolerating lies or retreating into despair.—
Carolyn McKinney,
Boston Herald,
22 Sep. 2025
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Along with many other major insurers, State Farm has been retreating from the California market for several years.—
Dana Goodyear,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Over half a dozen missions have contributed to how astronomers understand the heliosphere, and two enduring spacecraft, the Voyager probes, have collected key data after exiting the heliosphere to explore interstellar space.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
24 Sep. 2025
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Outside of penning her first memoir, Rinna has kept busy since exiting RHOBH in January 2023.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The person signaling to the others with their flashlight began shooting at the correctional officers from a line of trees across the street before fleeing.—
Chris Boyette,
CNN Money,
24 Sep. 2025
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Mitchell faces fleeing and eluding, criminal mischief and resisting arrest.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in and boarding systems for several airlines across multiple airports globally, is experiencing a technical issue that may cause delays for departing passengers.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Sep. 2025
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According to the flight-tracking platform, all arriving flights were assigned to Runway 04L that night, but the Nouvelair flight made its first approach at Runway 04R, which was only being used for departing flights.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Prior to the official announcement on Tuesday, footage circulating on social media showed a bright object flying over Puerto Rico.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
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In a separate incident in Oslo, police arrested two foreign nationals for flying drones over a restricted area.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Pearsall gets offense moving Ricky Pearsall entered Sunday’s game as the 49ers’ leading receiver and didn’t slow down.—
The Athletic NFL Staff,
New York Times,
22 Sep. 2025
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However, a sports doctor has weighed in with a best and worst-case scenario for Lamb moving forward.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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While this is a bane to many gardeners (bolting often renders plants bitter, woody, and inedible), in this strife also lies opportunity for those gardeners aiming toward environmental stewardship.—
Anthony Reardon,
Kansas City Star,
20 Sep. 2025
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This does not mean bolting on new features to your existing products, nor hiring an AI person here or there.—
Barry Libert,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Arsenal have been so used to Saka coming inside onto his left foot, so to have a player who is equally capable of driving down the outside and running along the byline is a new threat.—
Dan Sheldon,
New York Times,
21 Sep. 2025
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And don’t forget to the cast of Baywatch running along Santa Monica Beach.—
Erik Pedersen,
Deadline,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bugging out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugging%20out. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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