bug up

verb

To deliberately annoy or irk someone; to deliberately start a conflict with someone.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbbug up (third-person singular simple present bugs up, present participle bugging up, simple past and past participle bugged up)

present singular third person bugs up · participle present bugging up · participle past bugged up · past bugged up

  1. intransitiveslangAfrican-American VernacularTo deliberately annoy or irk someone; to deliberately start a conflict with someone.
  2. transitiveTo install a bug (listening device) on a person, thing or place.
Cite this entry
APA

bug up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bug%20up

MLA

“bug up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bug%20up. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bug up,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bug%20up.

Source: bug up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.