bugged out

verb

past tense of bug out
1
as in fled
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 departed
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

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.
Recent Examples of bugged out Matt, your eyes just really bugged out! — Kate Aurthur, Variety, 21 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugged out
  1. fled
  2. departed
  3. retreated
  4. exited
  5. bolted
  6. moved
  7. escaped
  8. got
Verb
  • The man then fled and attempted to take his own life in a shooting in Pasadena, officials said.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The other person, who police believe to be a man, fled the scene before officers arrived, Gonzalez said.
    — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of fled
Verb
  • Interscope’s pop/rock and urban divisions were impacted by last week’s restructuring as Sam Riback, Interscope’s co-president and head of pop/rock A&R, as well as Nicole Wyskoarko, the label’s head of urban A&R, both departed.
    — Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Strategy briefly departed from that stance earlier this year, however, selling Bitcoin on four separate occasions during a bear market that pushed the cryptocurrency’s price as low as $58,000 in June.
    — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of departed
Verb
  • As the Laurentide retreated across the plateau, tundra plants colonized the newly bare ground.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 24 Oct. 2026
  • As the world has become more and more connected, governments have retreated from global problems.
    — David Miliband, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of retreated
Verb
  • Incoom exited the Eagles in the first half and didn’t return, and as a result the Panthers needed to do a whole bunch of roster magic to fill his role on special teams.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Once the vehicle was parked, Pickens allegedly exited the car, walked to the driver’s side and opened the door.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of exited
Verb
  • The teacher bolted from the room as the shooter reached for his shotgun.
    — Russ Bynum, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The bill was renamed in June after Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old tourist from India, died while jumping after his mother when their carriage horse bolted on a sightseeing tour in the park.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of bolted
Verb
  • Deloitte found only 25% of organizations have moved 40% or more of their AI pilots into production.
    — Chris Koehler, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Trees fell onto homes and utility poles were knocked down by a possible tornado in a central Arizona community during a series of violent storms that moved through the state overnight into Thursday.
    — Wufei Yu, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of moved
Verb
  • Concerns mounted in July, when OpenAI disclosed that two of its models escaped containment, accessed the open internet and breached a company called Hugging Face.
    — Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
  • So far, these productions have largely escaped disruption, but the riots have rattled film crews and prompted warnings from Hollywood studios’ security departments.
    — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of escaped
Verb
  • To add to it, backup running back Tyler Goodson got his most burn as a Cowboy, rushing for 38 yards on 10 carries.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Oct. 2026
  • It's got a set of pedals, as well as a twist-throttle on the right bar, controlling a 750-W nominal, 1,310-W peak, 85-Nm (63-lb-ft) electric motor between the rear wheels.
    — Loz Blain October 26, New Atlas, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of got

Browse Nearby Words

bugged off
bugged out
bugger
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Cite this Entry

“Bugged out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugged%20out. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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