Word of the Day

bug

 

There are many different ways to use the word "bug."

First, a bug can be any type of insect. You don’t have to know the name of the insect. Just call it a bug.

  • The bugs come out when the weather is warm.
  • Mosquitoes are annoying little bugs.
  • I think I swallowed a bug. (This happens accidentally when there are many small flies in the air.)
  • Hey, there’s some kind of bug on your shoulder.
  • Some type of bug ate the leaves on my apple trees last summer.
  • Many bugs are actually useful and necessary for the environment.
  • If you’ve got bugs in your house, you should try to get rid of them.
  • A bug zapper attracts and kills bugs outside.

bug zapperbug zapper

A bug can also be a mild form of an illness.

  • Ophelia can’t come to work today because she says she caught a bug. (bug = cold or flu)
  • There’s a bug going around the office.
  • People can get some protection against a flu bug by getting a flu shot.
  • I think I caught a bug. (I think I have a cold or the flu.)

The word "bug" is popular as a verb. In this case, it means that a person or a thing is bothering someone:

  • Something’s bugging me.
  • I can’t stop thinking about this thing that’s bugging me.
  • My boss is bugging me about working extra hours.
  • Joe’s mother keeps bugging him about his hair, saying that it’s too long.
  • No one likes Todd because he bugs people.
  • Andrew’s kids bugged him for years and years about getting a swimming a pool, so finally he got one for them.
  • All that noise is bugging me.
  • What’s been bugging you?
  • Am I bugging you?
  • Are you busy right now? I don’t want to bug you.

 

A bug can also be a problem with a computer program or a product:

  • There’s a bug in this program. I can’t use it.
  • I never use that software. It has too many bugs in it.
  • This program feels kind of buggy.
  • They’ve worked the bugs out of the system and now it works fine.

Finally, a bug can refer to a big interest in something, especially gold.

  • Gold bugs can drive up the price of gold.
  • Vanessa’s a gold bug. (She collect a lot of gold.)
  • She caught a gold bug.
  • Jonah has a bug for antique jewelry.

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November 2, 2018