Taber's Medical Dictionary
bug
(bŭg )
To hear audio pronunciation of this topic, purchase a subscription or log in.1. A colloquial term for any small insect or arthropod, esp. of the order Hemiptera, that has sucking mouth parts, incomplete metamorphosis, and two pairs of wings, the fore pair being half membranous.
SEE: bedbug; SEE: chigger
2. A colloquial term for a disease-causing germ or microorganism.
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Citation
Venes, Donald, editor. "Bug." Taber's Medical Dictionary, 25th ed., F.A. Davis Company, 2025. Taber's Online, www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/737142/0/bug.
Bug. In: Venes DD, ed. Taber's Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company; 2025. https://www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/737142/0/bug. Accessed April 21, 2026.
Bug. (2025). In Venes, D. (Ed.), Taber's Medical Dictionary (25th ed.). F.A. Davis Company. https://www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/737142/0/bug
Bug [Internet]. In: Venes DD, editors. Taber's Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company; 2025. [cited 2026 April 21]. Available from: https://www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/737142/0/bug.
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