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1. General term for any insect or similar creeping or crawling invertebrate
    
2. A fault or defect in a computer program, system, or machine
   - glitch
    
3. A small hidden microphone; for listening secretly
   - wire
    
4. Insects with sucking mouthparts and forewings thickened and leathery at the base; usually show incomplete metamorphosis
   - hemipterous insect, hemipteran, hemipteron
    
5. A minute life form (especially a disease-causing bacterium); the term is not in technical use
   - microbe, germ

1. Annoy persistently
   "The children bugged the boy because of his stammer"
   - tease, badger, pester, beleaguer
    
2. Secretly listen in on a communication channel (esp. a telephone) in order to get information
   "Is this hotel room bugged?"
   - wiretap, tap, intercept
    
3. Put in place electronic eavesdropping equipment
   - wire

Derived forms: bugged, bugs, bugging

See also: buggy

Type of: bedevil, crucify, defect, dun, earwig [Brit], eavesdrop, fault, flaw, frustrate, insect, listen in, microorganism, micro-organism, microphone, mike, rag, torment

Part of: Hemiptera, order Hemiptera

Encyclopedia: Bug