BUGGING

BUG

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


Verb

bugging

present participle of bug

Noun

bugging (countable and uncountable, plural buggings)

Electronic surveillance.

Source: Wiktionary


BUG

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



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Word of the Day

27 April 2024

GREAT

(adjective) remarkable or out of the ordinary in degree or magnitude or effect; “a great crisis”; “had a great stake in the outcome”


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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