debug
9 synonyms and 2 antonyms for debug, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Verb — To find and remove the faults in a computer program or system that stop it behaving as intended.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. verb technical
To find and remove the faults in a computer program or system that stop it behaving as intended.
“I spent the whole afternoon trying to debug the checkout page after customers reported blank receipts.”
2. verb
To search a room, building or device for hidden listening equipment and remove it.
“Security swept and debugged the meeting room before the negotiations began.”
Opposites
3. adjective
Of a mode, build or output: producing extra detail about what a program is doing internally, so that faults can be traced.
“Turn on debug logging and send me whatever the console prints.”
Opposites
How to use debug
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Neutral and standard in software work. The listening-device sense belongs mostly to security and espionage contexts.
Etymology
From de- meaning to remove, plus bug in the sense of a fault or defect in a machine, an engineering usage that predates computing.
Full origin of debug →