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
  • But Americans want to know that colleges are responding with urgency to the crisis in our public life, not retreating from it.
    — Rajiv Vinnakota, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
  • In the second World Cup semifinal, England struck first, taking a 1-0 lead early in the second half and then retreating into a defensive shell.
    — David Hickey, NBC news, 16 July 2026
Definition of retreating
Verb
  • Ships departing these central port areas must navigate the long route through the archipelago.
    — David Nikel, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • Percy Jackson is departing on yet another world-altering adventure this fall.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 23 July 2026
Definition of departing
Verb
  • Garcia’s conviction included an enhancement for fleeing after committing a gross vehicular manslaughter and personally using a deadly weapon in the commission of the offense.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 23 July 2026
  • Godreque Newsom was accused of unintentionally killing 27-year-old Abari Meade in a car wreck and fleeing the scene.
    — Taylor Croft, AJC.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of fleeing
Verb
  • Lloyd’s Market Association, a group representing maritime insurance agents, called into question on Thursday whether ships exiting the strait could get policies going forward.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 24 July 2026
  • With Messi nearing retirement and Cristiano Ronaldo already exiting the World Cup stage, marketers have spent years searching for the game’s next universally recognizable face.
    — Clemente Lisi, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of exiting
Verb
  • Breakker connected with a flying cross body over the barricade on Breakker as Cole talked up Evans developing an edge.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • But years later, some of the highest-flying professional clubs have folded due to financial mismanagement, and dozens of soccer officials have been banned or imprisoned, and numerous teams ensnared in an anti-graft campaign.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 21 July 2026
Definition of flying
Verb
  • Spence, 36, makes his return after a nearly three-year layoff and a brutal TKO loss to Terence Crawford, moving up two divisions into hostile territory.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
  • That’s the tricky balance Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy must navigate moving forward.
    — Nick Friedell, New York Times, 25 July 2026
Definition of moving
Verb
  • The internet did not unlock productivity until businesses rewired processes around digital workflows rather than bolting websites onto analog operations.
    — Nigel Vaz, Time, 20 July 2026
  • Timing your planting to avoid summer heat will prevent bolting.
    — Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 7 July 2026
Definition of bolting
Verb
  • Two 911 callers reported seeing a child in a towel running along a state highway near the Scioto River, according to audio of the calls obtained by ABC News.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 22 July 2026
  • Or, spend the afternoon biking or running along the Lakefront Trail, catch the sunset at Belmont Harbor, or explore Lakeview's bookstores, breweries, and cafés.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 July 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 27 Jul. 2026.

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Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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