bug
- noun
- /bʌɡ/
- After searching the room thoroughly, she finally discovered the bug concealed behind the bookshelf.
There's like the sighting device that that they used to find the bug inside Neo.
- There's like the sighting device that that they used to find the bug inside Neo.
- He came to meetings with a bug in his backpack and filming stuff and whatever.
Examples
-
The agents monitor the conversation through the bug Ben is wearing.
Fiction book (1999) -
Batcave - that moment - on Bruce as he listens through his concealed bug.
Fiction book (1992) -
All we do is plant a bug and we can hear everything he says.
-
If there were electronic bugs and tiny hidden cameras to plant, he would do that as well.
Academic text (2002) -
OK, what we are looking at here is a list of every wiretap and bug that was put on Martin Luther King.
-
So you say, but Interpol's got these new listening bugs.
-
Baker switches on a tiny bug mic and we faintly hear the conversation in Arabic.
Fiction book (1996) -
Inside the briefcase were listening bugs, installation equipment, and compromising photos of the Senator with Christa.
Fiction book (1998) -
The red-eyed mechanical bug is still attached to Indiana's trousers. Indiana glares at Betsy.
Fiction book (1990) -
The detective found a bug hidden inside the lamp to monitor the suspect's conversations.
Synonyms
A device or way to secretly listen to phone calls
A small microphone placed against a wall that picks up sounds on the other side
A small pointed microphone that you press against a wall to hear sounds in the next room
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 Hidden
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word bug for a hidden listening device comes from the image of a small insect hiding quietly in a room, because the device is tiny and secret. So if someone finds a bug in a meeting room, it means a secret microphone was placed there.