verb (used with object), de·bugged, de·bug·ging. Informal.
- to detect and remove defects or errors from.
- to remove electronic bugs from (a room or building).
- Computers. to detect and remove errors from (a computer program).
- to rid (a garden, plant, etc.) of insect pests, as by the application of a pesticide.
verb -bugs, -bugging or -bugged (tr)
- to locate and remove concealed microphones from (a room, etc)
- to locate and remove defects in (a device, system, plan, etc)
- to remove insects from
noun
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- something, esp a computer program, that locates and removes defects in (a device, system, etc)
- (as modifier)a debug program
1945, of machine systems, from de- + bug (n.) “glitch, defect in a machine.” Meaning “to remove a concealed microphone” is from 1964. Related: Debugged; debugging.