bugging


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia.
Related to bugging: bugging out

bug

 (bŭg)
n.
1.
a. An insect having mouthparts used for piercing and sucking, such as an aphid, a bedbug, or a stinkbug.
b. An insect of any kind, such as a cockroach or a ladybug.
c. A small invertebrate with many legs, such as a spider or a centipede.
2.
a. A disease-producing microorganism or agent: a flu bug.
b. The illness or disease so produced: took several days to get over the bug.
3.
a. A defect or difficulty, as in a system or design.
b. Computers A defect in the code or routine of a program.
4. An enthusiasm or obsession: got bitten by the writing bug.
5. An enthusiast or devotee; a buff: a model train bug.
6. An electronic listening device, such as a hidden microphone or wiretap, used in surveillance: planted a bug in the suspect's room.
v. bugged, bug·ging, bugs
v.intr.
To grow large; bulge: My eyes bugged when I saw the mess.
v.tr.
1.
a. To annoy; pester.
b. To prey on; worry: a memory that bugged me for years.
2. To equip (a room or telephone circuit, for example) with a concealed electronic listening device.
3. To make (the eyes) bulge or grow large.
Phrasal Verbs:
bug off Slang
To leave someone alone; go away.
bug out Slang
1. To leave or quit, usually in a hurry.
2. To avoid a responsibility or duty. Often used with on or of: bugged out on his partners at the first sign of trouble.
Idiom:
put a bug in (someone's) ear Informal
To impart useful information to (another) in a subtle, discreet way.

[Perhaps alteration (influenced by obsolete bug, hobgoblin; see bugbear) of Middle English boude, budde, beetle, weevil, from Old English -budda as in scearnbudda, dung beetle; akin to Low German dialectal budde, louse.]

bug′ger n.

Bug

 (bo͞og, bo͞ok)
1. also Western Bug A river of eastern Europe rising in southwest Ukraine and flowing about 770 km (480 mi) through Poland to the Vistula River near Warsaw.
2. also Southern Bug A river of southern Ukraine rising in the southwest part and flowing about 853 km (530 mi) generally southeast to the Black Sea.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bugging

(ˈbʌɡɪŋ)
n
1. (Electronics)
a. surveillance using a hidden microphone
b. (as modifier): an electronic bugging device.
2. (Electronics) (as modifier): an electronic bugging device.
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Translations

bugging

[ˈbʌgɪŋ]
A. N (Telec) → intervención f
B. CPD bugging device Nmicrófono m oculto
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

bugging

[ˈbʌgɪŋ]
n (= surveillance) → utilisation f d'appareils d'écoute
modif [device, equipment] → d'écoute (clandestine)
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

bugging

nAbhören nt; the use of buggingder Gebrauch von Abhörgeräten; elaborate buggingraffiniertes Abhörsystem
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

bugging

[ˈbʌgɪŋ] nutilizzazione f di microfoni nascosti
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in periodicals archive ?
POP sensations Five are big video game fans and they're really bugging out over the latest PlayStation smash A Bug's Life.