Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Bug

Bug

(bŭg)
,
Noun.
[OE.
bugge
, fr. W.
bwg
,
bwgan
, hobgoblin, scarecrow, bugbear. Cf.
Bogey
,
Boggle
.]
1.
A bugbear; anything which terrifies.
[Obs.]
Sir, spare your threats:
The
bug
which you would fright me with I seek.
Shakespeare
2.
(Zool.)
A general name applied to various insects belonging to the Hemiptera;
as, the squash
bug
; the chinch
bug
, etc.
3.
(Zool.)
An insect of the genus
Cimex
, especially the bedbug (
Cimex lectularius
). See
Bedbug
.
4.
(Zool.)
One of various species of Coleoptera;
as, the lady
bug
; potato
bug
, etc.; loosely, any beetle
.
5.
(Zool.)
One of certain kinds of Crustacea;
as, the sow
bug
; pill
bug
; bait
bug
; salve
bug
, etc.
Bait bug
.
See under
Bait
.
Bug word
,
swaggering or threatening language.
[Obs.]
Beau. & Fl.

Webster 1828 Edition


Bug

BUG

,
Noun.
In common language, the name of a vast multitude of insects, which infest houses and plants. In zoology, this word is applied to the insects arranged under the genus Cimex, of which several hundred species are described. Bugs belong to the order of hemipters. They are furnished with a rostrum or beak, with antennae longer than the thorax, and the winds are folded together crosswise. The back is flat, the throat margined, and the feet are formed for running. Some species have no wings. The house-bug, or bed-bug, is a troublesome and disgusting insect.

Definition 2024


Bug

Bug

See also: bug, buug, búg, büg, and bůg

English

Proper noun

Bug

  1. the Bug River, flowing northwest 450 mi. between Belarus and Poland.
  2. the Bug River in the Ukraine, flowing 530 mi. to the Dnieper estuary.

Synonyms

Translations

Noun

Bug (plural Bugs)

  1. (slang) A Volkswagen Beetle car.

Anagrams


German

Etymology

From Middle High German buoc (animal shoulder), from Old High German buog (animal shoulder). The common contemporary meaning (“bow”) stems via German Low German from cognate Middle Low German bōch, from Old Saxon bōg.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /buːk/ (standard)
  • IPA(key): /buːx/ (northern and central Germany; becoming rare for this particular word)
  • Rhymes: -uːk, -uːx
  • Homophone: Buch (substandard)

Noun

Bug m (genitive Buges or Bugs, plural Buge or Büge)

  1. (nautical) bow, prow (of a ship)
  2. nose (of an aircraft)
  3. shoulder joint (of an animal)
  4. joist, joint (in woodwork)

Declension


Plautdietsch

Noun

Bug f

  1. (nautical) bow, prow (of a ship)

Polish

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Bug m inan

  1. the Bug river

Declension

bug

bug

See also: büg, Bug, búg, bůg, and buug

English

Noun

A green shield bug (Palomena prasina) in Budapest, Hungary. It is an insect of the order Hemiptera, and so is one of the "true bugs".

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 or freshwater crustaceans; e.g. a Morton Bay bug, mudbug.
  4. A problem that needs fixing, especially in computing.
    The software bug led the computer to calculate 2 plus 2 as 5.
    • 1878, Thomas P. Hughes, quoting Thomas Edison, Edison to Puskas, 13 November 1878, Edison papers, quoted in American Genesis: A History of the American Genius for Invention, Edison National Laboratory, U.S. National Park Service, West Orange, N.J.: Penguin Books, published 1989, ISBN 0-14-009741-4, page 75:
      I have the right principle and am on the right track, but time, hard work and some good luck are necessary too. It has been just so in all of my inventions. The first step is an intuition, and comes with a burst, then difficulties arise -- this thing gives out and [it is] then that "Bugs" -- as such little faults and difficulties are called -- show themselves and months of intense watching, study and labor are requisite before commercial success or failure is certainly reached.
  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. (broadcasting) 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, page 257:
      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, page 134:
      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, page 282:
      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.
  12. (obsolete) A bugbear; anything that terrifies.
    • Shakespeare
      Sir, spare your threats: / The bug which you would fright me with I seek.
  13. (chiefly LGBT, "the bug") HIV.
  14. (poker) A limited form of wild card in some variants of poker.

Usage notes

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

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

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

Translations

See also

Anagrams


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 m (plural bugs)

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

Karipúna Creole French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbuɡ/

Noun

bug

  1. boy (young male human)

References

  • 1987, Alfred W. Tobler, Dicionário Crioulo Karipúna/Português Português/Crioulo Karípúna, Summer Institute of Linguistics, page 5.

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowing from English bug.

Pronunciation

  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈbɐɡ/, /ˈbɐ.ɡi/

Noun

bug m (plural bugs)

  1. (computing) bug (error in a program’s functioning)
  2. (slang) anything causing unusual behaviour

Synonyms

Derived terms