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/bug/, n., v., bugged, bugging.n.2. (loosely) any insect or insectlike invertebrate.3. Informal. any microorganism, esp. a virus: He was laid up for a week by an intestinal bug.4. Informal. a defect or imperfection, as in a mechanical device, computer program, or plan; glitch: The test flight discovered the bugs in the new plane.5. Informal.a. a person who has a great enthusiasm for something; fan or hobbyist: a hi-fi bug.b. a craze or obsession: He's got the sports-car bug.6. Informal.a. a hidden microphone or other electronic eavesdropping device.b. any of various small mechanical or electrical gadgets, as one to influence a gambling device, give warning of an intruder, or indicate location.7. a mark, as an asterisk, that indicates a particular item, level, etc.8. Horse Racing. the five-pound weight allowance that can be claimed by an apprentice jockey.9. a telegraph key that automatically transmits a series of dots when moved to one side and one dash when moved to the other.10. Poker Slang. a joker that can be used only as an ace or as a wild card to fill a straight or a flush.11. Print. a label printed on certain matter to indicate that it was produced by a union shop.12. any of various fishing plugs resembling an insect.13. Chiefly Brit. a bedbug.14. put a bug in someone's ear, to give someone a subtle suggestion; hint: We put a bug in his ear about a new gymnasium.v.t. Informal.15. to install a secret listening device in (a room, building, etc.) or on (a telephone or other device): The phone had been bugged.16. to bother; annoy; pester: She's bugging him to get her into show business.17. bug off, Slang. to leave or depart, esp. rapidly: I can't help you, so bug off.18. bug out, Slang. to flee in panic; show panic or alarm.[1615-25; 1885-90 for def. 4; 1910-15 for def. 5a; 1915-20 for def. 15; 1945-50 for def. 16; earlier bugge beetle, appar. alter. of ME budde, OE -budda beetle; sense "leave" obscurely related to other senses and perh. of distinct orig.]Syn. 16. nag, badger, harass, plague, needle.bug2/bug/, n. Obs.a bogy; hobgoblin.[1350-1400; ME bugge scarecrow, demon, perh. < Welsh bwg ghost]
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ICoding error in a computer program that prevents it from functioning as designed.Most software companies have a quality-assurance department which is charged with finding program bugs while the program is in development (debugging); bugs are also often detected by means of beta testing (testing of a product, often by potential consumers, before it is placed on the market). The term originated in a computer context in 1945 when a moth flew into and jammed an electrical relay of the Harvard Mark II computer; it was extracted and taped into the log book with the inscription "First actual case of bug being found" (the term having previously been used for other kinds of mechanical defects).IICommonly, any insect; scientifically, any member of the insect order Heteroptera.In scientific usage, when the word "bug" is part of the common name for a member of the order Heteroptera, it is a separate word (e.g., "chinch bug"); when used as part of the common name for an organism that is not a heteropteran, it is not separated (e.g., the ladybug, in the order Coleoptera). In common usage, there are many exceptions to this convention (e.g., bedbugs are heteropterans).III(as used in expressions)Western Bug Riverpotato bugleaf footed bugYear 2000 bug* * *
commonly, any insect or terrestrial arthropod. In entomology, this term refers specifically to any member of the insect order Heteroptera (e.g., chinch bug, bedbug).When the word bug is part of the common name for a member of the “true bug” order Heteroptera, it is usually a separate word (exceptions are bedbug and stinkbug). When used as part of the common name for an organism that is not a heteropteran, the word bug is usually not separated—e.g., ladybug (a member of the beetle order Coleoptera), mealybug (a homopteran), doodlebug (a neuropteran larva), and sowbug (a crustacean). There are many exceptions to this convention. In the British Isles the name applies solely to one member of the heteropteran order, the bedbug Cimex lectularius.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
