Word.ws English Dictionary

bug out

bug out verb: to leave (a place) hastily.

Verb

bug out (third-person singular simple present bugs out, present participle bugging out, simple past and past participle bugged out)

  1. (intransitive, slang) To leave (a place) hastily.
    • Sir, the Prophet is bugging out. Request permission to engage!2004 November 9, Bungie, Halo 2, spoken by Miranda Keyes (Julie Benz), Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox, level/area: Metropolis
    • It's time I bugged out of this town: it ain't safe no more.
    1. (intransitive, slang) To abandon someone without warning.
      • I'm not gonna bug out on you, I promise.
    2. (intransitive, slang) To miss school, play truant, play hooky.
      • I go to Stockton High, but normally I bug out.
    3. (intransitive, slang) To leave civilization to live off the grid; to escape an apocalypse or emergency by leaving the area.
      • When it all goes down, you're gonna want to bug out.
  2. (slang, transitive) To cause to bulge.
    • Kim Goodman holds the world record for bugging out her eyes.
  3. (intransitive, slang) To bulge; to protrude.
    • The 3D imagery will make your eyes bug out.
  4. (intransitive, slang) To freak out, to go crazy, e.g. from worry.
    • She gets her nails done every Friday, so I know she's bugging out by now because her polish has moved up from the cuticle just a tiny bit, indicating that her nails ain't fresh. “Mickey, how the hell I'm just gone walk up to someone and[…]2006 September 26, L. Divine, Drama High: The Fight, Dafina Young Adult, →ISBN
    • "That's 'cause I'm taking the train into the city right now," I said, "and she's bugging out about my missing it."2012 November 13, 50 Cent, Laura Moser, Playground, Penguin, →ISBN, page 89
  5. (intransitive, slang) To crash or glitch.
    • My PC keeps bugging out and rebooting for no reason.

Noun

bug out (plural bug outs)

  1. (slang) A rapid retreat, a rout.
    Synonyms:
    retreat

Synonyms of bug out

Antonyms

Forms of bug out

Verb
third-person singular presentbugs out
present participlebugging out
past participlebugged out
pastbugged out
Noun
pluralbug outs

Origin of bug out

Attested 1950, popularized in the Korean War (1950–53) in such phrases as “bug-out fever” (rout) and “the big bug out” (November/December 1950 retreat) and entered civilian slang by mid 1950s. Likely originated in World War II, perhaps based on 1930s cartoons featuring bugs fleeing an impending foot or boot. Ultimately based on the rapid, disorderly flight of bugs when discovered, particularly their scattering if several are discovered at once, such as under a rock or can. Compare chicken out and roach out.

Words formed from bug out

Questions about bug out

What does bug out mean?
Bug out means to leave (a place) hastily.
What part of speech is bug out?
Bug out can be a verb or a noun.
What is the past tense of bug out?
The past tense of bug out is bugged out.

Words near bug out in the dictionary

  1. bug lady
  2. bug man
  3. bug nation
  4. bug nations
  5. bug off
  6. bug out
  7. bug outs
  8. bug screen
  9. bug screens
  10. bug scrub
  11. bug scrubs

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: bug out (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-bug out.ogg.

Cite this entry: “bug out.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/bug_out. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.