tease, badger, pester, bug, beleaguer
(verb) annoy persistently; “The children teased the boy because of his stammer”
wiretap, tap, intercept, bug
(verb) tap a telephone or telegraph wire to get information; “The FBI was tapping the phone line of the suspected spy”; “Is this hotel room bugged?”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
bugging
present participle of bug
bugging (countable and uncountable, plural buggings)
Electronic surveillance.
Source: Wiktionary
Bug, n. Etym: [OE. bugge, fr. W. bwg, bwgan, hobgoblin, scarecrow, bugbear. Cf. Bogey, Boggle.]
1. A bugbear; anything which terrifies. [Obs.] Sir, spare your threats: The bug which you would fright me with I seek. Shak.
2. (Zoöl.)
Definition: A general name applied to various insects belonging to the Hemiptera; as, the squash bug; the chinch bug, etc.
3. (Zoöl.)
Definition: An insect of the genus Cimex, especially the bedbug (C. lectularius). See Bedbug.
4. (Zoöl.)
Definition: One of various species of Coleoptera; as, the ladybug; potato bug, etc.; loosely, any beetle.
5. (Zoöl.)
Definition: One of certain kinds of Crustacea; as, the sow bug; pill bug; bait bug; salve bug, etc.
Note: According to present popular usage in England, and among housekeepers in America, bug, when not joined with some qualifying word, is used specifically for bedbug. As a general term it is used very loosely in America, and was formerly used still more loosely in England. "God's rare workmanship in the ant, the poorest bug that creeps." Rogers (Naaman). "This bug with gilded wings." Pope. Bait bug. See under Bait.
– Bug word, swaggering or threatening language. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
9 June 2025
(noun) one having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs; at birth an unambiguous assignment of male or female cannot be made
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
