millennium bug

noun

, Informal.

1. a bug that could cause computers or software to misinterpret a year after 1999 as having the first two digits 19 instead of 20, due to the coding of dates using only the last two digits of the four-digit year.

millennium bug

noun

1. computing any software problem arising from the change in date at the start of the 21st century

Word History and Origins

Origin of millennium bug¹

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

It is often tempting to look upon Vladimir Putin as the millennium bug in a human and deadly form.

From BBC

To them, as they navigate world-threatening issues such as climate change and the coronavirus, the idea of the millennium bug seems quaint.

From New York Times

On a recent podcast, Ms. Vrana learned about the fear in the late 1990s of a “millennium bug” that could collapse worldwide infrastructure through date formatting errors.

From New York Times

On a recent podcast, Ms. Vrana learned about the fear in the late 1990s of a “millennium bug” that could collapse worldwide infrastructure through date formatting errors.

From New York Times

Released as society lay on the cusp of the internet revolution and fretted over the millennium bug, the film not only tapped into technological developments of the time, but posed far-flung questions about the internet, consciousness and social control that have since come to shape society.

From BBC