English Reference
Verb

debug

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US /diˈbəɡ/ de·bug UK spelling debugged, debugs Electronics Programming

v.to find and fix mistakes in a computer program or a piece of electronic equipment.

v.to identify and remove errors from computer hardware or software. Transitive — requires a direct object.


SIMPLE

I need to debug this code before the website goes live.

CONTEXTUAL

The software engineers spent the entire weekend trying to debug the new update after users reported frequent crashes.

COMPLEX

Effective software development requires not just writing clean code, but also the ability to systematically debug complex systems where errors may be deeply hidden within the architecture.

Usage

The verb is transitive and takes a direct object.


From de- + bug.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Occasional
Updated