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# bug

«bug» in Mova's school dictionary: **A small insect or other tiny crawling creature, like a…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a bug, bugs); verb (bug, bugs, bugged, bugging)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A small insect or other tiny crawling creature, like a beetle or an ant. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#m1)

2) A germ that makes you mildly ill, like a cold or stomach bug. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#m2)

3) A mistake in a computer program that makes it go wrong. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#m3)

4) (verb) To annoy someone again and again. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#m4)

5) A tiny hidden microphone used to listen secretly; (verb) to hide one. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#m5)

6) A sudden strong interest: «the reading bug». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#m6)

7) Bug juice is slang for a weak, nasty drink that is not worth much. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#m7)

### sense in the lessons

In science, «bug» is an everyday word for insects; scientists use «true bugs» only for some insects with sucking mouths. In health it means a germ: «a tummy bug». In computing it is an error to find and fix. In everyday talk «stop bugging me» means stop annoying me. Phrases: «catch a bug», «a stomach bug», «fix a bug», «stop bugging me».

### examples

- We found a green bug on the leaf. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#x1)
- Ladybugs are bugs that eat aphids. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#x2)
- I stayed home with a stomach bug. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#x3)
- Wash your hands so you don't catch a bug. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#x4)
- There was a bug in my game, so it kept crashing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#x5)
- My little brother keeps bugging me while I read. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#x6)
- After the trip, Sam caught the travel bug. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#x7)
- Don't pick up bugs you don't know; some can sting. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#x8)
- The Spider came, and there he found a cricket, a beetle, and a bug. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/#x9)

### note

Countable: a bug, two bugs. Past form: bugged. Spiders are often called bugs in everyday talk, but they are not insects (they have eight legs). «Bug» meaning annoy is informal. «Ladybug» (US) = «ladybird» (UK).

### In the corpora

- [Chimps groom each other to remove dirt and bugs, but also to make friends and make up after fights.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/84-ape-house-gorillas-and-chimpanzees/8/)
- [Stink bugs release bad-smelling chemicals when disturbed, and smells work well as defences because predators learn quickly.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/248-defences-skunks-porcupines-hedgehogs-and-armour/12/)
- [But wild bugs from the garden are never a snack, because they can carry germs and poisons.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/290-insects-as-food-in-other-countries/5/)
- ["Tummy bug" means a stomach infection with being sick or diarrhoea; it is everyday British English.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/5-drink-mind-and-body/13/)
- [Ask what the plain word would be: a fee, a bug, a loss, a tax, a lie.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/23-fees-bugs-and-spin/4/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «bug» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bug/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.