noun
- An insect of the order Hemiptera (the “true bugs”).
- Any of various species of marine or freshwater crustaceans; e.g. a Morton Bay bug, mudbug.
- Any insect, arachnid, or other terrestrial arthropod that is a pest.
- Any insect, arachnid, myriapod or entognath.
- (chiefly computing and engineering jargon) A problem that needs fixing.
- A contagious illness; a bacterium or virus causing it
- An enthusiasm for something; an obsession
- A keen enthusiast or hobbyist.
- A concealed electronic eavesdropping or intercept device
- A small and usually invisible file (traditionally a single-pixel image) on a World Wide Web page, primarily used to track users.
- A small, usually transparent or translucent image placed in a corner of a television program to indicate what network or cable channel is televising it
- A manually positioned marker in flight instruments.
- A semi-automated telegraph key.
- Hobgoblin, scarecrow; anything that terrifies.
- ("the bug") HIV.
- A limited form of wild card in some variants of poker.
- A trilobite.
- A young apprentice jockey.
Synonyms: bog, bogey, boggard, boggle, bogle, bugbear, defect, glitch
verb
- To annoy.
- To install an electronic listening device or devices in.
noun
- A microfossil, particularly a foraminiferan.
Synonyms: bug
Pronunciation
About this word
Bug is a 3-meaning word in English. Shorter words have fewer anagrams.
This page shows the definition of bug along with every other word you can make from its letters. Click the link above to see all anagrams and shorter words formed from the same set of letters.
How to use this page
Every word in our dictionary has its own page like this one. Here you can:
- Read the definition — see what the word means, how it is used in context, and which part of speech it belongs to.
- Hear the pronunciation — when an audio recording is available, press the play button to hear the word spoken aloud.
- Browse synonyms — see related words that share a similar meaning, useful for expanding your vocabulary.
- Find anagrams — click "Other words from bug's letters" to see every word you can spell using the same letters.
Words in word games
If you are playing a word game, knowing whether a word is valid is essential. Bug appears in our 370,000-word English dictionary, which includes most words accepted in Scrabble and Words With Friends. However, always check the official word list for the specific game you are playing, as different games use different dictionaries.
Scrabble
In Scrabble, the valid word lists are the Official Tournament and Club Word List (OTCWL/NWL) for North America and the Collins Scrabble Words (CSW) for international play. Our dictionary covers most words in both lists, but some proper nouns, abbreviations, and offensive terms may differ.
Wordle
Wordle uses its own curated word list that is smaller than the full Scrabble dictionary. If Bug appears here, it may or may not be a valid Wordle answer — but it is a real English word regardless.
Try it interactively
Open Bug in the interactive unscrambler →
More word resources
Explore our guides for more word game help:
Or see all our guides on the blog index.