water bug

1. 1.

   a true bug: large aquatic bug adapted to living in or on the surface of water

   Broaderheteropterous insect

   Narrowergiant water bugwater scorpionwater boatmanwater strider
2. 2.

   small light-brown cockroach brought to United States from Europe; a common household pest

   SynonymsGerman cockroachCroton bugcrotonbugBlattella germanica

   Broadercockroach

   Part ofBlattella

Questions about water bug

What does water bug mean?

water bug means "a true bug: large aquatic bug adapted to living in or on the surface of water". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for water bug?

Close synonyms include German cockroach, Croton bug, crotonbug, Blattella germanica. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is water bug a common word?

water bug is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.