The difference between Bug and Pest

When used as nouns, bug means any insect, arachnid, myriapod or entognath, whereas pest means a plague, pestilence, epidemic.


Bug is also verb with the meaning: to annoy.

check bellow for the other definitions of Bug and Pest

  1. Bug as a noun (colloquial, US):

    Any insect, arachnid, myriapod or entognath.

  2. Bug as a noun (entomology):

    An insect of the order Hemiptera (the "true bugs").

  3. Bug as a noun (colloquial):

    Any insect, arachnid, or other terrestrial arthropod that is a pest.

    Examples:

    "These flies are a bother. I’ll get some bug spray and kill them."

  4. Bug as a noun:

    Any of various species of marine or freshwater crustaceans; e.g. a Morton Bay bug, mudbug.

  5. Bug as a noun (chiefly, computing):

    A problem that needs fixing.

    Examples:

    "synonyms: defect glitch"

    "The software bug led the computer to calculate 2 plus 2 as 5."

  6. Bug as a noun:

    A contagious illness; a bacterium or virus causing it

    Examples:

    "He’s got the flu bug."

  7. Bug as a noun (informal):

    An enthusiasm for something; an obsession

    Examples:

    "I think he’s a gold bug: he has over 10,000 ounces in storage."

    "I caught the skiing bug while staying in the Alps."

  8. Bug as a noun (informal):

    A keen enthusiast or hobbyist.

  9. Bug as a noun:

    A concealed electronic eavesdropping or intercept device

    Examples:

    "We installed a bug in her telephone."

  10. Bug as a noun:

    A small and and usually invisible file (traditionally a single-pixel image) on a World Wide Web page, primarily used to track users.

    Examples:

    "He suspected the image was a Web bug used for determining who was visiting the site."

  11. Bug as a noun (broadcasting):

    A small, usually transparent or translucent image placed in a corner of a television program to indicate what network or cable channel is televising it

    Examples:

    "Channel 4's bug distracted Jim from his favorite show."

  12. Bug as a noun (aviation):

    A manually positioned marker in flight instruments.

  13. Bug as a noun:

    A semi-automated telegraph key.

  14. Bug as a noun (obsolete):

    Hobgoblin, scarecrow; anything that terrifies.

    Examples:

    "synonyms: bog bogey bogle boggle boggard bugbear"

  15. Bug as a noun (chiefly, LGBT, "the bug"):

    HIV.

  16. Bug as a noun (poker):

    A limited form of wild card in some variants of poker.

  17. Bug as a noun (paleontology, slang):

    A trilobite.

  18. Bug as a noun (petroleum industry, slang, dated):

  19. Bug as a noun (slang, horse-racing):

    A young apprentice jockey.

  1. Bug as a verb (informal, transitive):

    To annoy.

    Examples:

    "Don’t bug me, I’m busy!"

  2. Bug as a verb (transitive):

    To install an electronic listening device or devices in.

    Examples:

    "We need to know what’s going on. We’ll bug his house."

  1. Pest as a noun (originally):

    A plague, pestilence, epidemic

  2. Pest as a noun:

    Any destructive insect or caterpillar that attacks crops or livestock; an agricultural pest.

  3. Pest as a noun:

    An annoying person, a nuisance.

  4. Pest as a noun:

    An invasive weed.

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