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bug

noun · verb · adjective

Simple meaning

Any insect, arachnid, or other terrestrial arthropod that is a pest.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

buhg
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbʌɡ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. informal

    Any insect, arachnid, or other terrestrial arthropod that is a pest.

  2. Any of various species of marine or freshwater crustaceans; e.g. a Moreton Bay bug, mudbug.

  3. A concealed electronic eavesdropping or intercept device

  4. us

    Any insect, arachnid, myriapod or entognath.

  5. A contagious illness, or a pathogen causing it.

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

verb

  1. transitive

    To install an electronic listening device or devices in.

  2. transitive

    To represent (a value) using a bug on an instrument.

  3. informaltransitive

    To annoy.

  4. informalintransitive

    To act suspiciously or irrationally, especially in a way that annoys others.

  5. intransitiveof eyes

    To bulge or protrude.

adjective

  1. Initialism of bisexual until graduation.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Any insect, arachnid, or other terrestrial arthropod that is a pest.

Used this way, bug is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Casual
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Playful
Usage feel
Casual and conversational

Where it naturally appears

  • Everyday conversation
  • Social media/informal writing

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use bug

  • “A small bug flew into the room through the open window.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

gold bugplant bugwater buglove bugbed bugstink buglightning bugbug spray

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • bug outverbCompound term

    Bulge outward.

  • bug-hunternounCompound term

    A zoologist who studies insects.

  • boat bugnounCompound term

    Carnivorous aquatic bug having paddle-like hind legs.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to install an electronic listening device or devices in

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.