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put a bug in someone's ear

bug
P p

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [buhg]
    • /bʌg/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [buhg]
    • /bʌg/

Definitions of put a bug in someone's ear words

  • noun put a bug in someone's ear Also called true bug, hemipteran, hemipteron. a hemipterous insect. 1
  • noun put a bug in someone's ear (loosely) any insect or insectlike invertebrate. 1
  • noun put a bug in someone's ear Informal. any microorganism, especially a virus: He was laid up for a week by an intestinal bug. 1
  • noun put a bug in someone's ear Informal. a defect or imperfection, as in a mechanical device, computer program, or plan; glitch: The test flight discovered the bugs in the new plane. 1
  • noun put a bug in someone's ear Informal. a person who has a great enthusiasm for something; fan or hobbyist: a hi-fi bug. a craze or obsession: He's got the sports-car bug. 1
  • noun put a bug in someone's ear Informal. a hidden microphone or other electronic eavesdropping device. any of various small mechanical or electrical gadgets, as one to influence a gambling device, give warning of an intruder, or indicate location. 1
See all 16 definitions of put a bug in someone's ear

Information block about the term

Origin of put a bug in someone's ear

First appearance:

before 1615
One of the 41% oldest English words
1615-25; 1885-90 for def 4; 1910-15 for def 5a; 1915-20 for def 14; 1945-50 for def 15; earlier bugge beetle, apparently alteration of Middle English budde, Old English -budda beetle; sense “leave” obscurely related to other senses and perhaps of distinct orig.

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Put a bug in someone's ear

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Put a bug in someone's ear

put a bug in someone's ear popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 95% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

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