rubber duck debugging

noun

The practice in which a programmer attempts to solve a bug by explaining their code to an inanimate object, such as a rubber duck.

Similar
rubber ducking
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Meanings

nounrubber duck debugging (uncountable)
  1. uncountablecomputingThe practice in which a programmer attempts to solve a bug by explaining their code to an inanimate object, such as a rubber duck.

    Synonyms: rubber ducking

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe practice in which a programmer attempts to solve a bug by explaining their code to an inanimate object, such as a rubber duck.

Similar
rubber ducking

Origin

From a story in the book The Pragmatic Programmer (1999).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

rubber duck debugging. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rubber%20duck%20debugging

MLA

“rubber duck debugging.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rubber%20duck%20debugging. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rubber duck debugging,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rubber%20duck%20debugging.

Source: rubber duck debugging on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.