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
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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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Schools, churches, small shops that survived the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed over 300,000 are now a pile of rubble, part of the apocalyptic landscape left behind by the retreating forces that control almost all of Haiti’s capital.—
Johnny Fils-Aimé,
Miami Herald,
8 Sep. 2025
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Water is rapidly replacing ice along the coastal plain of southeastern Alaska, where glaciers are thinning and retreating, with meltwater forming lakes off of their fronts, NASA says.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Center Jonny King is considered questionable for Saturday’s contest after exiting in the second half against the Tar Heels.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Sep. 2025
-
The air-condition, heating and electricity automatically turns off when the keycard is taken out of its slot, but to avoid this many leave one card in the slot when exiting the room.—
Mattias Goldmann,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Bolsonaro is under house arrest, surrounded by guards to prevent him from fleeing to a foreign embassy to request asylum.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Campuses are also a common site for hoax active shooter reports, which often causes mass panic and sends students fleeing for safety.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Lock your home before departing.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Sep. 2025
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The Heat also brought in forward Simone Fontecchio as part of a sign-and-trade deal with the Detroit Pistons, sending out departing ex-Heat free sharpshooter Duncan Robinson in the offing.—
Alex Kirschenbaum,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The sterile cockpit rule prohibits pilots from engaging in conversations unrelated to operating the aircraft when flying below 10,000 feet.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Perhaps the easiest was an airplane flying overhead.—
Nola Taylor Tillman,
Space.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Both offenses are moving with little resistance thus far.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Sep. 2025
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Both injuries have significant implications for fantasy, as Jacory Croskey-Merritt is assured more touches in Washington moving forward; in Green Bay, Matthew Golden will have more chances to show his skills with Reed out in Week 3 and beyond.—
Jess Bryant,
New York Times,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
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As reports from the Ukraine war show, taking a drone and bolting a Claymore mine to it isn't new.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
And don’t forget to the cast of Baywatch running along Santa Monica Beach.—
Erik Pedersen,
Deadline,
29 Aug. 2025
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Add in wild horses running along the beach at sunset and untouched coastlines, and Sumba feels like Southeast Asia before mass tourism.—
Laura Begley Bloom,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bugging out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugging%20out. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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