bug

noun29

1. •
   An insect of the order Hemiptera (the “true bugs”).

   • Several pretty beetles, a superb "bug," and a few nice land-shells were obtained, and I returned in the afternoon well satisfied with my first trial of the promised land. — 1869
2. •
   Any insect, arachnid, myriapod or entognath.
3. •
   (informal) a very small creature that walks or flies, especially one that people see as a problem

   • These flies are a bother. I’ll get some bug spray and kill them.
4. •
   (informal) Any minibeast.
5. •
   (informal) Any insect.

   • A: Eew, what is that thing?! Is that a bug?! B: No, it's a spider. And don't worry: she's not gonna hurt you.
6. •
   (informal, slang) A trilobite.
7. •
   A problem that needs fixing.

   • The software bug led the computer to calculate 2 plus 2 as 3.
8. •
   A contagious illness, or a pathogen causing it.

   • He's got the flu bug.
9. •
   HIV.
10. •
    (informal) An enthusiasm for something; an obsession.

    • I caught the skiing bug while staying in the Alps.
11. •
    A concealed electronic eavesdropping or intercept device

    • We installed a bug in her telephone.
12. •
    A small 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.
13. •
    (informal) Any of various species of marine (saltwater or freshwater) crustaceans; e.g. a Moreton Bay bug, mudbug.

    • Bugs, oysters, prawns and crabs […] are plated up on the decks of four side-by-side trawlers bobbing on the calm waters of Trinity Inlet. — 2021
14. •
    (informal) A lobster.
15. •
    (informal) A keen enthusiast or hobbyist.

    • His mother had been a bug on astrology, which was why the moment of his birth had been impressed on him so exactly. — 1961
16. •
    A small, usually transparent or translucent image placed in a corner of a television program to identify the broadcasting network or cable channel.

    • Channel 4's bug distracted Jim from his favorite show.
    • The score bug displays the current football score over the ongoing match.
17. •
    Synonym of union bug.
18. •
    (US, slang) A Volkswagen Beetle car.
19. •
    (slang) A Bugatti car.
20. •
    A manually positioned marker in flight instruments.

    • You look up the proper speed for the phase of flight, set the reminder bug, and then literally forget the speed. You don't read the airspeed number, you fly to the bug. — 2004
21. •
    (US, slang) A young apprentice jockey.
22. •
    (US, slang) An asterisk denoting an apprentice jockey's weight allowance.

    • The "bugs" are the asterisks next to the apprentice's name. One bug is a five-pound allowance, two bugs equal seven pounds, and three bugs equal ten pounds. — 1999
23. •
    A semi-automated telegraph key.

    • 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. — 1938
24. •
    A limited form of wild card in some variants of poker.
25. •
    (slang) A small piece of metal used in a slot machine to block certain winning combinations.
26. •
    (slang) A metal clip attached to the underside of a table, etc. to hold hidden cards, as a form of cheating.

    • Some clumsy or audacious sharpers will go so far as to hold out cards in their lap, or stick them in a "bug" under the table. — 1897
27. •
    (slang, old-fashioned) Synonym of oil bug.
28. •
    (informal, no longer used) A bedbug.
29. •
    (no longer used) Hobgoblin, scarecrow; anything that terrifies.

    • Sir, spare your threats: / The bug which you would fright me with I seek. — 1610

verb5

1. •
   (informal) To annoy.

   • Don’t bug me, I’m busy!
2. •
   To install an electronic listening device or devices in.

   • We need to know what’s going on. We’ll bug his house.
3. •
   (informal) To act suspiciously or irrationally, especially in a way that annoys others.

   • I'm worried about Wallace. He's been buggin' all week.
4. •
   To bulge or protrude.
5. •
   To represent (a value) using a bug on an instrument.

   • You (or the autopilot) are still steering to the bugged heading […] — 1996

adjective1

1. •
   (slang, disapproving) Initialism of bisexual until graduation.