bug

Meaning

Noun

1. An insect of the order Hemiptera (the “true bugs”).
2. Any of various species of marine or freshwater crustaceans; e.g. a Moreton Bay bug, mudbug.
3. (informal) Any insect, arachnid, or other terrestrial arthropod that is a pest.
4. (informal) Any minibeast.
5. Any insect, arachnid, myriapod or entognath.
6. (obsolete) A bedbug.
7. A problem that needs fixing.
8. A contagious illness, or a pathogen causing it.
9. (informal) An enthusiasm for something; an obsession.
10. (informal) A keen enthusiast or hobbyist.
11. A concealed electronic eavesdropping or intercept device.
12. A small and usually invisible file (traditionally a single-pixel image) on a World Wide Web page, primarily used to track users.
13. A lobster.
14. A small, usually transparent or translucent image placed in a corner of a television program to identify the broadcasting network or cable channel.
15. A manually positioned marker in flight instruments.
16. A semi-automated telegraph key.
17. (obsolete) Hobgoblin, scarecrow; anything that terrifies.
18. HIV.
19. A limited form of wild card in some variants of poker.
20. (slang) A trilobite.
21. (slang) Synonym of oil bug.
22. (slang) An asterisk denoting an apprentice jockey's weight allowance.
23. (slang) A young apprentice jockey.
24. Synonym of union bug.
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.

Verb

1. (informal) To annoy.
2. (informal) To act suspiciously or irrationally, especially in a way that annoys others.
3. To install an electronic listening device or devices in.
4. To bulge or protrude.

Concepts

bug

insect

beetle

wiretap

tap

vex

bother

germ

bedbug

annoy

pester

error

mistake

microbe

glitch

worm

irritate

tease

trouble

eavesdrop

defect

cockroach

intercept

fault

aggravate

hassle

nag

needle

monitor

overhear

rile

gall

nettle

moth

fly

badger

beleaguer

hemipteran

hemipteron

hemipterous insect

failure

virus

blunder

vermin

harass

flea

creepy-crawly

aberration

avocation

curiosity

fancy

inquisitiveness

interest

harrass

tire

affront

anger

displease

irk

miff

offend

peeve

pique

provoke

rankle

upset

bugbear

slip

interception

listening device

concealed microphone

cervid

deer

doe

gnat

mite

parasite

tick

roach

wall-louse

obsession

craze

devotee

buff

lack

lapse

bed-bug

bee

mosquito

larva

many

much

hopper

bacillus

bacterium

accident

breakdown

conk

hitch

impairment

inaction

malfunction

mischance

mischief

missing

stoppage

key

key set

manipulator

switch

acoustic intercept receiver

detectagraph

detectaphone

listening-in device

tapping device

erroneous

incorrect

miscarriage

listen in

animal

beast

louse

mealworm

barge in

commove

disorder

disturb

faze

harry

jam

interfere

interrupt

intrude

intrude on

molest

perturb

put off

programming error

blooper

flaw

fluff

foul

misplay

revoke

stumble

wrinkle

exasperate

get on one’s nerves

true bug

wire

bed bug

chafe

devil

get at

get to

gravel

nark

rag

gogga

insects

coleopteron

Pronounced as (IPA)

/bʌɡ/

Etymology

First attested in this form around 1620 (referring to a bedbug), from earlier bugge (“beetle”), a conflation of two words:
# Middle English bugge (“scarecrow, hobgoblin”), perhaps from obsolete Welsh bwg ("ghost, hobgoblin"; compare Welsh bwgwl ("threat", older "fear")) or from Proto-Germanic *bugja- (“swollen up, thick”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew-, *bu- (“to swell”) (compare Norwegian bugge (“big man”), dialectal Low German Bögge (“goblin”, “snot”)). Or, from a word related to buck and originally referring to a goat-shaped spectre.
# Middle English budde (“beetle”), from Old English budda (see sċearnbudda (“dung beetle”)), from Proto-Germanic *buddô, *buzdô, from the same ultimate source as above (compare Low German Budde (“louse, grub”), Norwegian budda (“newborn domestic animal”)). More at bud.
The term is used to refer to technical errors and problems at least as early as the 19th century, predating the commonly known story of a moth being caught in a computer.

Sentences

After writing a bug report , one should regularly check if someone responded .