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
  • Skywatchers will not only see the moon change color, but also witness the sharp, curved edge of Earth’s shadow steadily advancing across — and later retreating from — the lunar surface.
    — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
  • At a moment when Washington is retreating from its responsibilities, New York is stepping up for vulnerable immigrant children.
    — Meena Shah, New York Daily News, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of retreat
Verb
  • Lagarde has been seen as the frontrunner for the role since WEF’s longtime chair departed under a cloud.
    — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Brockman took over the revenue organization in early July after CEO of Applications Fidji Simo departed to focus on her health.
    — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of depart
Verb
  • Crews struggled to contain a large wildfire near Reno, Nevada, that has forced thousands of people to flee their homes, destroyed structures and caused multiple injuries.
    — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
  • More than a thousand people were forced to flee from a Croatian holiday resort last week, while hundreds more were evacuated from villages in western Germany and southwest France.
    — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of flee
Verb
  • Cantu’s wife, who heard her husband, then exits the home and comes to the horrid realization that her husband is dead or dying on the front yard.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf again has roiled markets, causing oil prices to rise and pushing up Treasury yields due to worries over inflation.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of exit
Verb
  • However, what’s entirely unexpected is the sparrow continuing to fly around even when Hal takes his ring back.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
  • These include ballistic missiles, low-flying cruise missiles, aircraft, hypersonic threats, ships, and other surface targets.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of fly
Verb
  • The animation is truly ugly, the characters moving at the framerate of a PowerPoint and looking less like the animals they’re supposed to be than weird hybrid troll creatures.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Instead of dealing with rental cars or busy trailheads, travelers just want to step out their front door, lace up and move.
    — Roger Sands, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of move
Verb
  • That sequencing bothers people who’ve spent careers being told that data systems need privacy protections designed in, not bolted on after a scandal.
    — Karl W. Bickel, Baltimore Sun, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Next, workers will install new cables, bolted into the five main branches, to stabilize the tree before removing the old supports.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of bolt
Verb
  • Police had initially tried to pull over Shelton's vehicle, a 2006 Honda Civic, near Rodney Parham Road and Mississippi Street, but the vehicle fled through several streets and got away, Little Rock police said in a news release.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The service got its name from the original Mechanical Turk, an 18th century chess-playing robot that was actually controlled by a human chess master.
    — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 26 Aug. 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 29 Aug. 2026.

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