bug
[noun]
Synonyms:
- illness, disease, infection, lurgy (informal), virus
- fault, defect, error, flaw, glitch, gremlin
[verb]
Synonyms:
- annoy, bother, disturb, get on one's nerves (informal), hassle (informal), irritate, pester, vex
- tap, eavesdrop, listen in, spy

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English Thesaurus: fault, defect, weakness, flaw, bug, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. Beetle British English, ‖ Bug American English informal
a small car made by Volkswagen which has a high, rounded top. It was first produced in the 1930s and has been popular ever since because of its unusual shape. In 1998 a Beetle with a completely new design went on sale.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. Bug noun American English informal
a Beetle (=type of small Volkswagen car)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

I. bug¹ S3 /bʌɡ/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1600-1700; Origin: Perhaps from bug 'evil spirit, scarecrow' (14-18 centuries)]

1. informal an illness that people catch very easily from each other but is not very serious
catch/pick up/get a bug
I picked up a bug last weekend.
There’s a nasty bug going round (=that a lot of people have caught).
tummy/stomach bug (=illness affecting your stomach)
He’s off work with a stomach bug.
a 24-hour flu bug

2. especially American English a small insect

3. a fault in the system of instructions that operates a computer:
a bug in the software ⇒ debug

4. a small piece of electronic equipment for listening secretly to other people’s conversations

5. informal a sudden strong interest in doing something
the travel/sailing etc bug
She’s got the travel bug.
I had one flying lesson and immediately caught the bug (=became very interested in flying).

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. bug² verb (past tense and past participle bugged, present participle bugging) [transitive]

1. informal to annoy someone:
It just bugs me that I have to work so many extra hours for no extra money.
The baby’s crying is really bugging him.

2. to put a bug (=small piece of electronic equipment) somewhere secretly in order to listen to conversations:
Do you think the room is bugged?

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

bug
noun
I. infectious illness
ADJ. nasty | flu, stomach, tummy
VERB + BUG have | catch, come/go down with, get, pick up
BUG + VERB go around/round A stomach bug has been going round at school.
strike sb down
PREP. with a/the ~ off work with a flu bug
 ⇒ Special page at ILLNESS

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

bug
II. sudden interest in sth
VERB + BUG be bitten by, catch, get She's been bitten by the travel bug.
BUG + VERB bite (sb)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

bug
III. sth wrong in a system/machine
ADJ. minor, slight | computer, software

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

bug

a nasty/horrible bug
It was a really nasty bug.
a stomach bug (also a tummy bug more informal)
He’s off school with a stomach bug.
a flu bug
We’ve all had a horrible flu bug.
a 24-hour/2-day etc bug
The doctor says it’s just a 24-hour bug.
have a bug
Two of us had a nasty bug on holiday.
catch/get a bug
Six out of ten travellers get a stomach bug abroad.
pick up a bug (=catch one)
He seems to pick up every bug going.
a bug is going around (=a lot of people have it)
A lot of staff are off because there’s a bug going round.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fault a problem in a machine, system, design etc that causes damage or makes it not work properly:
The fire was caused by an electrical fault.
a fault in the engine
defect a fault in something such as a product or machine, resulting from the way it was made or designed:
Cars are tested for defects before they leave the factory.
weakness a part of a plan, system, or argument that is not as good as the other parts, and makes it likely to fail:
What are the strengths and weaknesses of each method?
flaw a fault in a plan, system, argument etc, especially one that makes it useless or not effective:
Your argument has a fundamental flaw.
There was one major flaw in his suggestion – we didn’t have enough money.
bug a fault in a computer program:
A bug in the system was quickly fixed.
glitch a small fault in the way something works, that can usually be easily corrected:
I noticed a small glitch when installing the software.
mistake something that is wrong in someone’s spelling, grammar, calculations etc:
The article was full of spelling mistakes.
there’s something wrong with something used when saying that there is a problem in a machine, car etc, but you do not know what it is:
There’s something wrong with the computer – it won’t close down.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

illness something wrong with your health which makes you feel ill:
Her husband was in hospital for six months with a serious illness.
disease a particular illness, especially one that spreads to other people easily or that affects one part of your body:
childhood diseases such as measles and chickenpox
heart disease
infection an illness that is caused by bacteria or a virus:
His cough got worse and worse and became a chest infection.
condition a health problem that affects you permanently or for a long time:
a medical condition such as asthma
a heart condition
problem [usually after a noun] something that is wrong with a particular part of your body or your health in general:
a serious back problem
health problems
trouble [singular, only after a noun] illness or pain that affects a particular part of your body:
I’ve had a bit of stomach trouble.
disorder formal an illness that prevents a particular organ of your body from working properly, or affects the way you behave:
a liver disorder
a blood disorder
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder.
bug informal an illness that spreads to other people very easily but that is not very serious:
There’s a bug going round at school and a lot of the children are absent.
a flu bug
complaint medical an illness that affects a particular part of your body, especially one that is not very serious – used by doctors:
a minor skin complaint
Deakin suffers from a back complaint called arachnoiditis.
ailment /ˈeɪlmənt/ formal an illness that affects a particular part of your body, especially one that is not serious:
People often go to their doctor about relatively minor ailments.
The ointment is used to treat ailments such as small wounds and insect bites.
sickness the state of being ill, especially when it stops you working:
absence from work due to sickness
ill health formal the state of being ill, usually for a long period of time:
Research shows that there is a link between air pollution and ill health.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

insect a small creature such as a fly or ant, that has six legs, and sometimes wings:
Head lice are tiny insects that live in the hair.
bug a small insect:
What are those little bugs in my roses?
creepy-crawly informal an insect, especially one that you are frightened of:
The mattress was covered in creepy-crawlies.
aphid technical a small insect that lives on the juice of plants and destroys them:
The leaves have been attacked by aphids.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

listen to pay attention to what someone is saying or to a sound that you hear:
I didn’t hear the answer, because I wasn’t listening when she read it out.
He listened carefully to every word I said.
pay attention to listen carefully to what someone is saying:
I nodded to show I was paying attention.
She was tired and wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying.
eavesdrop to secretly listen to someone else’s conversation by standing near them, hiding behind a door etc:
I caught him eavesdropping on our conversation.
They spoke in quiet voices which made it hard to eavesdrop.
overhear to hear someone say something, especially accidentally:
I overheard him say something about wanting to move house.
Excuse me! I couldn’t help overhearing that you were planning a trip to Thailand.
tune in (to something) to listen to a radio programme, or to someone using a radio transmitter:
Over a million people tune in to the programme each week.
Tune in at the same time next week for the next episode.
The equipment could be used by criminals to tune in to police broadcasts.
tap to connect a piece of electronic recording equipment to a telephone system so that you can listen to people’s telephone conversations:
The police had tapped the phones of all three suspects.
The President had to resign over an illegal phone-tapping operation.
bug to hide a small piece of electronic recording equipment in someone’s room, car, office etc in order to listen secretly to what is said there:
Security agents bugged their offices and managed to get some evidence against them.
Wells was convinced the house was bugged and insisted on playing loud music while we talked.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

bug
to annoy or irritate someone; to bother someone
My friend is beginning to bug me with his endless questions.

The boy's rude behavior is beginning to bug me.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

BUG
Big Ugly Goof (programming mistake )

[TahlilGaran] Acronyms and Abbreviations Dictionary ▲