verb

debug

dee-BUG

Debug (verb) means to find and remove the faults in a computer program or system that stop it behaving as intended. Example: “I spent the whole afternoon trying to debug the checkout page after customers reported blank receipts.”

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."

"He added print statements everywhere to debug the sorting routine."

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."

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."

How to use debug

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo work out why something is going wrong and put it right.

When to use it

Neutral and standard in software work. The listening-device sense belongs mostly to security and espionage contexts.

Memory tip

Regular in form but with a doubled consonant in the inflections: debugs, debugging, debugged.

Trace the full origin ↓

Easily confused with

troubleshoot → test → bug → de-bug

Common pairings

debug a program debug mode debug output debug logs hard to debug debug a build

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Test yourself on “debug” A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage →

Fill the gap

Can you complete this real example?

I spent the whole afternoon trying to _____ the checkout page after customers reported blank receipts.

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.

Origin: English

Synonyms

View more →

troubleshoot fix fault-find diagnose repair sweep de-bug diagnostic verbose

Antonyms

bug production

Related words

production break performance station product join solution produce

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between debugging and testing?

Testing is the work of checking whether software behaves as expected and revealing that a fault exists. Debugging starts afterwards: it is the work of tracing that fault to its cause in the code and correcting it. In short, testing finds the symptom and debugging finds the reason.

What is a debugger?

A debugger is a tool that runs a program under supervision so you can pause it at chosen points, step through it one instruction at a time, and inspect the values held in memory. It makes it possible to watch what the program is actually doing rather than infer it from the final output.

Why is a software fault called a bug?

Bug was already in use by engineers for a defect or glitch in a machine well before electronic computing, and the word carried over to faults in programs. The often-repeated story of a moth found in an early computer is a memorable anecdote about the term already being current, not the origin of it.

What is the meaning of debug?

"debug" (verb) means to find and remove the faults in a computer program or system that stop it behaving as intended.

People also searched

production break performance station product join solution produce