Definition of "debug"

debug

/diːˈbʌɡ/

verb
third-person singular simple present debugs, present participle debugging, simple past and past participle debugged
1. (computer science) To search for and eliminate malfunctioning elements or errors in something, especially a computer program or machinery.
  Quotations
  It ranged from the pre-design development of essential components, through the stage of type test and flight test and "debugging" right through to later development of the engine to higher powers and efficiency.
  1945, The Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, volume 49, page 183
  It debugs all program errors, including those that are hardware initiated.
  1970, Behavior Research Methods and Instrumentation, volume 2, page 36
  Additionally, it's up to you to remember to remove this cron entry when you've debugged the firewall.
  2015, Steve Suehring, Linux Firewalls: Enhancing Security with nftables and Beyond‎, page 140
2. (electronics) To remove a hidden electronic surveillance device from (somewhere).
  Quotations
  Typical fees: $75 to check a particular telephone, $125 to debug one room, $500 to debug a suite of offices— all plus expenses and transportation.
  1969, John Millar Carroll, The Third Listener: Personal Electronic Espionage, page 30
  It conducts background investigations of new CIA employees and CIA contractors, administers polygraph tests to employees and agents, debugs offices at Langley and overseas stations, patrols the buildings and grounds, protects the director and other key CIA officials, and investigates security problems.
  2012, Ronald Kessler, Inside the CIA‎, page 172
  It is good to acquire information about how to perform the debugging operation and the type of tools that will be used, from which you may already have an idea of the technical and instrumental skills, having acquired a plenty of technical information after reading this chapter.
  2013, F. Garzia, Handbook of Communications Security‎, page 620
3. (US) To remove insects from (somewhere), especially lice.
  Quotations
  Mr. Moses started out his garden this year with only two toads. As they were differently marked, they soon became known as "Henry" and "Frank." Henry was strong in the pursuit of "ants." Every morning he is seen perched on his favorite hill "anting" for breakfast. Frank's occupation is that of debugging the roses and beating up the paths for miscellaneous insects.
  1905 June 15, A. J. R., “With the Long Bow”, in The Minneapolis Journal‎, Minneapolis, Minn., retrieved 2017-02-15, page 14
  You can debug yourself at home with various over-the- counter medications.
  1999, Stephen E. Goldstone, The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex: A Medical Handbook for Men, page 59
  If you find nits, it's time for some serious debugging.
  2011, Jay Heinrichs, Home Remedies from a Country Doctor
  Before we moved into our new quarters we, and our belongings, had to be deloused and debugged.
  2013, Peter Jackson, Sacrifice, Captivity and Escape: The Remarkable Memoirs of a Japanese POW, page 165
  MK2 has said that its theatres have been de-bugged and that “there is no more risk in our rooms than in any other public place in Paris”.
  2023 September 4, “Coming soon to a cinema near you? The return of the bed bug”, in The Guardian‎
noun
countable and uncountable, plural debugs
1. The action, or a session, of reviewing source code to find and eliminate errors.
  Quotations
  It may appear odd in the example that the no debug all command was entered before and after the debug was done. The first command is unnecessary, but getting into this habit can save you!
  2009, Dale Liu, Cisco CCNA/CCENT Exam 640-802, 640-822, 640-816 Preparation Kit
  What should be the next steps following a test failure during debug?
  2019, James K. Peckol, Embedded Systems: A Contemporary Design Tool, page 539

Definition of "debug"

debug

verb

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noun

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