bug
- noun
- /bʌg/
- Informal
- I'm sick with the bug that got Belle and Eve the last few days.
IBS overlaps with having stomach bugs or like a stomach illness.
- IBS overlaps with having stomach bugs or like a stomach illness.
- You may have heard there are bugs in your gut, but do they matter?
- These are microscopic bugs in our intestines.
- So these were not skin bugs, these are not mouth bugs.
- Microbiome pretty much attempts to define the bugs that are living in our gut.
- And in turn, your gut bugs have a massive influence on your wider health.
- We have just got over the worst sickness bug ever.
Examples
-
These are microscopic bugs in our intestines.
-
You don't know how many people this bug could be incubating in, do you?
Fiction book (1993) -
You may have heard there are bugs in your gut, but do they matter?
-
Brian had a stomach virus, or Ted suffered from that twenty-four-hour bug that seemed to be going around.
Fiction book (2000) -
We lived in barracks, four families to a house, with plenty of bugs, plenty of sickness, and vermin.
Academic text (1994) -
IBS overlaps with having stomach bugs or like a stomach illness.
-
I think I caught a bug after eating at that restaurant last week.
-
The bug that made everyone sick at the office seems to be going around.
-
She was feeling unwell because of a bug that is spreading through the community.
Synonyms
A tiny living thing that can make people ill
A very small living thing, like a bacterium, that can cause disease
A tiny germ like a virus or a bacterium that causes disease in people and animals
Idioms
- Informal
Tell someone about an idea so they will think about it later
Compounds
- US
A large bloodsucking bug that bites near the mouth and can spread Chagas disease
- US
A common North American beetle whose young live on roots and adults eat leaves and flowers
- Specialized
An insect with a thin mouth that pierces and sucks fluids, like a water strider
- Specialized
A small black and white bug that eats grasses like wheat and can damage crops
- Specialized
A large insect that sucks blood from people and sometimes spreads disease
- Specialized
A long-legged bug that eats other insects and sometimes sucks blood from mammals
A small yellow or orange bug with four black stripes that makes spots on plant leaves
A small yellow insect with four black stripes on its back that feeds on plants
A small insect with a thin net pattern on its wings and body that feeds on plant leaves
A large insect that feeds on plant juices and has leaf-shaped parts on its back legs
- Specialized
A small insect that feeds on many crop and garden plants and damages fruits
- US
A large insect that feeds on the sap of plants like squash and pumpkins, often damaging crops
- Specialized
A large North American insect with a wheel-shaped crest that eats other insects
- Specialized
A possible computer problem when programs cannot use dates after the year 9999
How Harmful
Surface Forms
Etymology
Bug for a sickness comes from the idea of a tiny creature making you ill, like an insect inside your body. So when doctors say 'you have a bug', they mean a small germ or infection.