bug out

verb

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to depart
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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bug out
  1. retreat
  2. depart
  3. flee
  4. exit
  5. fly
  6. move
  7. bolt
  8. get
Verb
  • Longtime collaborator Erik Blood foregrounds Butler’s dry drum machines in the mix, letting every other element shuffle around them, snaking toward the spotlight for a brief moment and retreating back into the brume.
    — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
  • If broadcaster partnerships are helping Netflix expand its offering in Europe and Latin America, India shows why the streamer is unlikely to retreat from investing in local originals.
    — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of retreat
Verb
  • The National Gallery Singapore’s chief curator Patrick Flores and assistant chief executiveChris Lee, are the latest to depart the institution in December amid a staff shake-up.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • And, yes, this rendition represented a lyrical alteration by the Tonji that departed from the traditional wording of the French national anthem.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of depart
Verb
  • Jaros and Rauh calculate that the state will lose money so long as 24 percent of the tax base flees, a condition that’s already been met.
    — Ramesh Ponnuru, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Some senators fled while others braced themselves inside the Senate chamber as Officer Eugene Goodman tried to reason with the mob, and Senate staffers barricaded themselves in offices, hiding.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of flee
Verb
  • Shortly after, a heavyset man wearing gray sweats, white socks and black sandals and a black hooded sweatershirt exits the passenger-side door.
    — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Saquon Barkley missed the previous two games because of a hamstring injury before exiting Monday's loss after just nine snaps with a back injury.
    — Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of exit
Verb
  • Multiple flying insects throughout entire food service space.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Matthew Golden and Christian Watson can fly, and playing indoors gives them a chance to show it.
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of fly
Verb
  • The next president may well also have more power to purchase equity stakes; legislation moving through the Senate would give the Pentagon explicit legal authority to do so.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is moving forward with a $4 million investment to run an ad featuring Democrat Amy Acton’s estranged mother after the video received fierce backlash.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of move
Verb
  • The companies that capture that value will redesign work around their most creative people, rather than bolting AI onto old processes and counting the empty chairs.
    — Jay Kaplan, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Jim Zellers, a pioneer of big-mountain snowboarding and a friend of Morrison’s for almost four decades, had for several years been bolting new routes on this face, refining and naming and grading.
    — Nick Paumgarten, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of bolt
Verb
  • Ironically, these uninsured Americans may be helping drive the cost of health care even higher, fueling a cycle in which health insurance gets more expensive, forcing more people to drop coverage.
    — Alana Semuels, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Why concert tickets keep getting more expensive Artists, promoters, venues, and ticketing platforms all take a cut of each ticket.
    — James LaForge, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of get
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.

Browse Nearby Words

bug off
bug out
bugs
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Cite this Entry

“Bug out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bug%20out. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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