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
  • To de-escalate the situation and for officer safety, officers did not proceed with the arrest at the Las Vegas Airport and chose to instead arrest him at his flight the following day departing the Los Angeles International Airport on July 14.
    — Carly Sauvageau, USA Today, 17 July 2026
  • Okay, maybe while departing my hotel’s driveway, but that’s about it.
    — Jerry Perez, The Drive, 15 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
  • That means that in order to attend, your device needs to be secured in a Yondr pouch, only to be unlocked upon exiting the venue (White was actually the first artist to use Yondr).
    — Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 16 July 2026
  • The victim had been riding as a passenger in a Jeep driving on Hudson Street that was sideswiped by a Ford pickup truck exiting a driveway near a Shell gas station, authorities said.
    — Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 16 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
  • Regena and Frankie Felix went to the hospital ready for the birth of their child, but they were sent home by staff who felt Regena’s labor wasn’t moving along fast enough on Monday, July 13, Fox 10 reported.
    — Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE, 18 July 2026
  • Consider Updating Your Plumbing Just like with lighting, switches, and outlets, many kitchen renovators plan on adding or moving plumbing lines for appliances, pot fillers, and more.
    — Kamron Sanders, The Spruce, 18 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
  • There was a point that night, still being replayed on social media even now, where Connors was running along the back wall, throwing up lobs as the noise in the place kept building with each one.
    — Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 4 July 2026
  • The district is in the central part of Palm Beach County, running along the coast.
    — Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 25 June 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 24 Jul. 2026.

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