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# debug

verb (debug, debugs, debugged, debugging)

«debug» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (computers) To find and fix the mistakes (bugs) in a computer program. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debug/#m1)
2. To find and fix problems in any plan or machine. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debug/#m2)
3. (rare) To remove insects or hidden listening devices from a place. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debug/#m3)

### In the lessons

In coding lessons debugging means running the program, seeing what goes wrong, finding the line with the mistake and fixing it — step by step. Phrases: «debug the code», «a debugging tool», «debug your program».

### Examples

- Our robot kept turning left, so we had to debug the program. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debug/#x1)
- Debugging means finding the mistake and fixing it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debug/#x2)
- It took me ten minutes to debug my Scratch game. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debug/#x3)
- The teacher showed us how to debug by testing one step at a time. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debug/#x4)
- Good programmers spend lots of time debugging. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debug/#x5)
- We debugged our plan for the school fair after the first test run. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debug/#x6)
- The spy movie showed agents debugging a hotel room. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debug/#x7)

### Note

Past form «debugged», «-ing» form «debugging» (double g). Noun «a bug» = a mistake in a program. A famous story says the word «bug» came from a moth found in an early computer, but people already used «bug» for faults before that — a common myth.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «debug» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debug/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«debug» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/debug.html) on Mova free.