bug
1. noun Any microorganism, such as a bacterium or virus, that produces illness or disease. I always use antibacterial cleaning products to kill all the bugs and germs in the house. There are a lot of foreign bugs you've got to get vaccinated for before you travel into the jungle. Now that my daughter is in preschool, I'm constantly worried about what bugs she's bringing home.
2. noun Any mild illness or disease caused by such a microorganism. I must have some sort of stomach bug, because I've been vomiting all morning. He must have picked up a bug on his flight from New York. I felt like death yesterday but am totally fine today, so I guess it was one of those 24-hour bugs.
3. noun A defect in a computer program, system, or design. Due to a bug in the app, millions of people's financial data was made publicly available. It's clear that they rushed the phone to market without working out all the bugs first. We hoped to have the software update out this week, until one of our testers found a pretty significant bug.
4. noun An electronic listening device, especially one that is surreptitiously planted or installed. They put a bug on Tom's phone so they could record every conversation he had on it. Bugs have been planted all over the building, so we'll be able to hear every detail of their illicit schemes. You never know where somebody's put bugs—that's why I only talk business in my office.
5. noun An obsession or craze (for, about, or to do something). I've always had a bug about tidiness, so it really irritates me when people clutter up my desk. Sarah caught the travel bug this summer. Now she's planning trips all over the world. Jenny's got the photography bug these days. I gave her one of my old film cameras, and she takes it everywhere with her.
6. noun A person who has an obsession with or intense enthusiasm for something. He's been a real film bug since high school. Sarah's a big computer bug, so you should ask her what kind of laptop would be right for you. I'm no car bug, so I'm worried the mechanic is going to rip me off.
7. verb To annoy, pester, or irritate someone. I don't know what it is about Tom, but he just bugs me whenever I'm around him. Would you take the kids out for a while? They've been bugging me all day. Do you not have enough work to do? Is that why you're over here, bugging me?
8. verb To plant an electronic listening device on someone, something, or some place. They bugged the informant before he went into the big drug deal. It turns out they had bugged his desk and heard him confess to the whole crime. We did bug the chandelier in his house, we just haven't gotten any intel from it yet.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.