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bug out

 [buhg]   Origin

bug

1   [buhg] noun, verb, bugged, bug·ging.
noun
1.
Also called true bug, hemipteran, hemipteron. a hemipterous insect.
2.
(loosely) any insect or insectlike invertebrate.
3.
Informal. any microorganism, especially a virus: He was laid up for a week by an intestinal bug.
4.
Informal. a defect or imperfection, as in a mechanical device, computer program, or plan; glitch: The test flight discovered the bugs in the new plane.
5.
Informal.
a.
a person who has a great enthusiasm for something; fan or hobbyist: a hi-fi bug.
b.
a craze or obsession: He's got the sports-car bug.
EXPAND
6.
Informal.
a.
a hidden microphone or other electronic eavesdropping device.
b.
any of various small mechanical or electrical gadgets, as one to influence a gambling device, give warning of an intruder, or indicate location.
7.
a mark, as an asterisk, that indicates a particular item, level, etc.
8.
Horse Racing. the five-pound weight allowance that can be claimed by an apprentice jockey.
9.
a telegraph key that automatically transmits a series of dots when moved to one side and one dash when moved to the other.
10.
Poker Slang. a joker that can be used only as an ace or as a wild card to fill a straight or a flush.
11.
Printing. a label printed on certain matter to indicate that it was produced by a union shop.
12.
any of various fishing plugs resembling an insect.
13.
Chiefly British. a bedbug.
COLLAPSE
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Ad
verb (used with object) Informal.
14.
to install a secret listening device in (a room, building, etc.) or on (a telephone or other device): The phone had been bugged.
15.
to bother; annoy; pester: She's bugging him to get her into show business.

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Bug out is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Verb phrases
16.
bug off, Slang. to leave or depart, especially rapidly: I can't help you, so bug off.
17.
bug out, Slang. to flee in panic; show panic or alarm.
Idiom
18.
put a bug in someone's ear, to give someone a subtle suggestion; hint: We put a bug in his ear about a new gymnasium.
Origin:
1615–25; 1885–90 for def. 4; 1910–15 for def. 5a; 1915–20 for def. 14; 1945–50 for def. 15; earlier bugge beetle, apparently alteration of Middle English budde, Old English -budda beetle; sense “leave” obscurely related to other senses and perhaps of distinct orig.

Related forms
un·bugged, adjective

Synonyms
15. nag, badger, harass, plague, needle.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To bug out
Collins
World English Dictionary
bug out
 
—vb
slang chiefly (US) (intr, adverb) to depart hurriedly; run away; retreat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

bug
"to bulge," 1870s, perhaps from a humorous or dialect mispronunciation of bulge. The verb "to annoy, irritate" is first attested 1949, probably in allusion to insect pests, from bug (n.). Sense of "equip with a concealed microphone" is from 1919. Related: Bugged; bugging. Phrase
EXPAND
bug off is 1950s, perhaps from bugger off, which is chiefly British (by 1920s) but was picked up in U.S. Air Force slang in the Korean War.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

bug (bŭg)
n.

  1. A true bug, specifically one having a beaklike structure that allows piercing and sucking.

  2. An insect or similar organism, such as a centipede or an earwig.

  3. A disease-producing microorganism, such as a flu bug.

  4. The illness or disease so produced.

  5. A defect or difficulty, as in a system or design.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
bug   (bŭg)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. An insect belonging to the suborder Heteroptera. See more at true bug.

  2. An insect, spider, or similar organism. Not in scientific use.


Our Living Language  : The word bug is often used to refer to tiny creatures that crawl along, such as insects and even small animals that are not insects, such as spiders and millipedes. But for scientists the word has a much narrower meaning. In the strictest terms bugs are those insects that have mouthparts adapted for piercing and sucking. The mouthparts of these bugs are contained in a beak-shaped structure. Thus scientists would classify a louse but not a beetle or a cockroach as a bug. In fact, scientists often call lice and their relatives true bugs to distinguish them better from what everyone else calls "bugs."
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

bug definition


A generic term that describes a malfunction of undetermined origin in a computer or other electronic device.

Note: The term originated in the 1940s when the examination of a large computer revealed that an actual insect had landed on one of the circuits, shorting it out and shutting the machine down.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

bug definition


  1. n.
    a flaw in a computer program. : As soon as I get the bugs out, I can run my program.
  2. n.
    someone who is enthusiastic about something. (A combining form.) : Mary is a camera bug.
  3. n.
    an obsession or urge. : I've got this bug about making money.
  4. n.
    a spy device for listening to someone's conversation. : I found a little bug taped under my chair.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

bug out definition


  1. in.
    to pack up and retreat. (Military, Korean War.) : Orders are to bug out by oh-nine-hundred.
  2. in.
    to get out of somewhere fast. : I gotta find a way to bug out of here without getting caught.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

bug out

  1. Bulge, as in The news will make her eyes bug out with astonishment. This expression was originally used literally for bulging eyes and later used more loosely as a sign of astonishment. [Colloquial; mid-1800s]

  2. Leave, run out, as in This conference is a bore; I think I'll bug out. This usage originated as military slang for deserting and today is used more loosely. [Slang; c. 1950]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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