bugging out

verb

Definition of bugging outnext
present participle of bug out
1
as in retreating
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening the ground soldiers bugged out just before the start of the aerial bombing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in exiting
to leave a place often for another the strange visitor bugged out without so much as saying a word

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugging out
  1. retreating
  2. exiting
  3. fleeing
  4. departing
  5. running
  6. escaping
Verb
  • Three top concerns include elections and political turmoil that threaten progress, companies retreating or staying silent on DEI and ESG goals, and the rise of sustainability reporting that’s (temporarily) taking up companies’ time.
    Andrew Winston, Harvard Business Review, 20 Dec. 2024
  • Deporting millions of immigrants and retreating from global trade by implementing slogans like America First will not achieve these goals.
    Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Definition of retreating
Verb
  • The last time the Southland saw similarly dry conditions was in early 2023, as the state was exiting a punishing, years-long drought thanks to an exceptional kickoff to the wet season.
    Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2025
  • Adani Enterprises, Gautam Adani’s flagship company, is exiting from the joint venture with Wilmar to focus on its core infrastructure businesses and use the proceeds from the deal to expand its renewable energy, transport and logistics ventures.
    Jonathan Burgos, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
Definition of exiting
Verb
  • In May, eight soldiers were sentenced to death for fleeing the battlefield, and in July, 25 soldiers were convicted of similar offenses.
    Jean-Yves Kamale and Wilson Mcmakin, Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2025
  • After a clerk refused to give her money, the woman attempted to break into the cash register before fleeing in a black SUV displaying out-of-state license plates, police said.
    Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 3 Jan. 2025
Definition of fleeing
Verb
  • At Bradley International Airport, 93,000 people have booked departing flights between last Wednesday and the day after Christmas, according to Brian Spyros, spokesman for the Connecticut Airport Authority.
    Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
  • On that same weekend, news filtered out about many senior staffers departing, voluntarily or otherwise, from City Hall.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of departing
Verb
  • There were also rumors about dysfunction running toward the organization, leading to the firing of Brown.
    George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 31 Dec. 2024
  • The move ends, or brings to the next phase, one of the longest-running and most public marital breakdowns in modern Hollywood history.
    Max Goldbart, Deadline, 31 Dec. 2024
Definition of running
Verb
  • Their family was on the run, escaping the mortar fire that drove them from their home in Hari Fara, one of the last refuges for Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority.
    Adam Ferguson, New York Times, 28 Dec. 2024
  • The 1922 version's climax is more focused on Knock escaping and being hunted by the townsfolk because he's scapegoated for the plague.
    Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 25 Dec. 2024
Definition of escaping
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near bugging out

bugging off

bugging out

buggy

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Bugging out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugging%20out. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Top 12 Sophisticated Compliments

Word of the Year 2024 | Polarization

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
white rubber duck stands out in a row of yellow ducks
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.