Bug Definition

bug

English

Etymology

1620 (referring to a bedbug); from earlier bugge 'beetle', conflation of (1) Middle English bugge 'scarecrow, hobgoblin', from Proto-Germanic *bugja- 'swollen up, thick' (cf. Norwegian bugge 'big man', Low German dialect Bögge 'goblin, snot'); and (2) Middle English budde 'beetle', from Old English -budda (cf. scearnbudda 'dung beetle'), from Proto-Germanic *buddōn (compare Low German Budde 'louse, grub', Norwegian budda 'newborn domestic animal'). More at bud.

Pronunciation

• enPR: bŭg, IPA: /bʌɡ/, SAMPA: /bVg/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌɡ

Noun

bug (plural bugs)

1. An insect of the order Hemiptera (the "true bugs").
2. (colloquial) Any insect, arachnid, or other terrestrial arthropod that is a pest.

   These flies are a bother. I’ll get some bug spray and kill them.

3. Various species of marine crustaceans; e.g. a Morton Bay bug.
4. A problem that needs fixing, especially in computing.

   The software bug led the computer to calculate 2 plus 2 as 5.

5. A contagious illness; a bacterium or virus causing it

   He’s got the flu bug.

6. An enthusiasm for something; an obsession

   I think he’s a gold bug, he has over 10,000 ounces in storage.

   to catch the skiing bug

7. An electronic intercept device

   We installed a bug in her telephone

8. A small and and usually invisible file (traditionally a single pixel image) on a World Wide Web page, primarily used to track users.

   He suspected the image was a web bug used for determining who was visiting the site.

9. A small, usually transparent or translucent image placed in a corner of a television program to indicate what network or cable channel is televising it

   Channel 4's bug distracted Jim from his favorite show

10. (aviation) A manually positioned marker in flight instruments
11. A semi-automated telegraph key
    • 1938, Paul Gallico, Farewell to Sport, p257

      At this point your telegraph operator, sitting at your right, goes "Ticky-tick-tickety-de-tick-tick," with his bug, as he calls his transmitter, and looks at you expectantly.

    • 1942, Arthur Reinhold Nilson, Radio Code Manual, p134

      As far as the dashes are concerned, the bug is the same in operation as any regular key would be if it were turned up on edge instead of sitting flat on the desk.

    • 1986, E. L. Doctorow, World's Fair, p282

      I was a very good radio operator. I bought my own bug. That's what the telegraph key in its modern form was called. It was semiautomatic.

Usage notes

• Adjectives often applied to "bug": major, minor, serious, critical, nasty, annoying, important, strange, stupid, flying, silly.

Synonyms

• (An intercept device): wiretap
• See also Wikisaurus:defect

Derived terms

• buglet
• debug

See also

Verb

bug (third-person singular simple present bugs, present participle bugging, simple past and past participle bugged)

1. (informal, transitive) To annoy.

   Don’t bug me, I’m busy!

2. (transitive) To install an electronic listening device or devices in.

   We need to know what’s going on. We’ll bug his house.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:annoy

Derived terms

• bug out

Translations

See also

• Hemiptera on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:Hemiptera
• Hemiptera on Wikispecies. Wikispecies: Hemiptera
• Hemiptera on Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons: Hemiptera
• Software bug on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:Software bug

Anagrams

• gub

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse búkr.

Noun

bug c. (singular definite bugen, plural indefinite buge)

1. stomach
2. abdomen
3. belly

Inflection

French

Etymology

English bug

Noun

bug f. (plural bugs)

1. (slang) A bug (a problem, especially in computing)

Related 'Bug' Searches:

See Also:

• Bugbomb