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Meaning & use

bugs

noun, verb·Everyday

Last updated

UK/bʌɡz/
US/bʌɡz/

“bugs” is a form of “bug”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.

Meanings

  1. nounplural

    Small insects with a flat body and six legs.

    Grammar: This is the plural form of 'bug'; use it for more than one insect.

    Patterns

    • a lot of bugs
    • bugs in the garden

    There are bugs crawling on the leaves.

    She screamed when she saw bugs in the kitchen.

    The birds eat bugs from the ground.

  2. nounpluralcomputing

    Errors or faults in a computer program that make it work incorrectly.

    Grammar: This is the plural of 'bug' in computing; it refers to software problems.

    Patterns

    • fix bugs
    • report bugs
    • bugs in the software

    The team spent all week fixing bugs in the app.

    Users reported several bugs after the update.

    There are still some bugs that cause the program to crash.

  3. nounpluralinformal

    A minor illness caused by a germ, especially a stomach or cold virus.

    Grammar: Informal; usually used with 'a' in the singular, but the plural appears in phrases like 'going around'.

    Patterns

    • a stomach bug
    • bugs going around

    There are a lot of bugs going around at school this month.

    He caught a stomach bug on holiday.

    The kids keep bringing home bugs from nursery.

  4. verbtransitiveinformal

    Annoys or worries someone repeatedly.

    Grammar: Takes an object: 'It bugs me.' The subject is the thing that annoys.

    Patterns

    • it bugs someone
    • bugs someone that ...

    It really bugs me when people are late.

    What bugs him most is the noise from the street.

    Her constant questions bug me.

  5. verbtransitive

    Hides a small listening device in a place to record what people say.

    Grammar: Takes an object: 'bug the room'. Often used in the passive: 'The office was bugged.'

    Patterns

    • bug a room
    • bug someone's phone

    The police bugged the suspect's apartment.

    They suspected their phones had been bugged.

    Someone bugged the meeting room to listen in.

Word forms

base formbug
third person singularbugs
past tensebugged
past participlebugged
-ing formbugging

Common combinations

fix bugs
We need to fix the bugs before the release.
a stomach bug
She stayed home with a stomach bug.
bugs going around
There are lots of bugs going around this winter.
it bugs me
It bugs me when the wi-fi drops.
bug someone's phone
The reporters claimed someone had bugged their phones.

Synonyms and how they differ

insects
More formal and scientific than 'bugs', which is the everyday word for small crawling creatures.
errors
A general word for mistakes; 'bugs' is the usual term for faults in software.
annoy
A close synonym for the verb sense, but 'annoy' is more neutral; 'bug' is informal.
irritate
Similar to 'bug' but slightly more formal and often about physical discomfort too.

Word family

buggy adjective
Full of bugs; used especially for software that crashes a lot.
debug verb
To find and remove bugs from a computer program.
bugging noun
The act of hiding listening devices, or the feeling of being annoyed (informal).

Commonly confused: bugs or insect? bugs or bug?

bugs vs insect

An insect is the scientific category; 'bug' is the everyday word and can also mean a software fault or a germ.

bugs vs bug

Remember that 'bugs' is either plural or third-person singular; don't use it for one insect (say 'a bug').

Practice

Which sentence uses 'bugs' correctly to talk about software problems?

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