# beep

Pronunciation: US say "BEEP" /biːp/; UK

## Noun

1. A short tone produced electronically by a device or machine.
   - Simple: A short, high sound made by a machine or device.
   - _A single beep confirmed that the card had been accepted._
   - _The heart monitor emitted a steady beep every few seconds._
3. The sound made by a car's horn, or any similar short blast.
   - Simple: A short sound made by a car horn or something like it.
   - _An angry beep warned the jaywalker to step back onto the curb._
   - _She tapped the wheel and let out a short beep at the slow truck._
5. A short message delivered to someone's pager device.
   - Simple: A message sent to someone's pager.
   - _A beep came through asking him to call the front desk._
   - _He ignored the beep until his shift was finally over._
8. A control character in computing that signals a device to produce an audible alert; a synonym of the bell character.
   - Simple: A special computer character that makes a device give a short sound.
   - _Early terminals would ring whenever a program emitted a beep in its output._
   - _Developers still send a beep down the terminal stream to flag failed commands._

## Verb

2. To make, or cause something to make, a short electronic tone.
   - Simple: To make a short, high electronic sound.
   - _Drivers beep their horns when the light finally turns green._
   - _The microwave beeped to signal that the cycle was done._
4. To contact someone by sending a message to their pager.
   - Simple: To send a message to someone using a pager.
   - _Nurses beep the surgeon whenever an emergency arrives._
   - _He beeped his colleague twice but got no response._
6. To call someone and let the phone ring only once, hanging up so that they call back instead.
   - Simple: To call someone and hang up after one ring so they call you back.
   - _Students often beep their parents to avoid using up their credit._
   - _He beeped his friend, knowing she would return the call._
7. A coy, jokey way of saying to have sexual intercourse with someone, echoing the bleep that censors crude words on air. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A polite, joking way to say to have sex with someone.
   - _The whole office gossiped that he had beeped the new intern._
   - _She insisted she would never beep someone just to get ahead._

## Noun

9. A half-ton general-purpose light truck used by the military. *(dated, US)*
   - Simple: A small half-ton military truck used for general jobs.
   - _The convoy lost a beep to the mud halfway up the ridge._
   - _Mechanics kept the old beep on the road long after the war._
10. A Dodge WC-series U.S. Army truck of World War II, made in half-ton, three-quarter-ton, and one-ton variants. *(dated, US)*
   - Simple: A Dodge military truck from World War II, built in half-ton to one-ton sizes.
   - _The museum restored a Dodge beep to its original wartime markings._
   - _A three-quarter-ton beep carried the wounded back from the line._
11. A three-quarter-ton general-purpose medium truck used by the military. *(dated, US)*
   - Simple: A three-quarter-ton military truck used for general jobs.
   - _A medium beep ferried supplies across the cratered road._
   - _The unit relied on the three-quarter-ton beep for heavier loads._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–8** — Onomatopoeic: the word imitates the sound it describes.
**Meanings 9–11** — A blend of "big" and "jeep," so named for being bigger versions of the general-purpose superlight truck, the Willys MB "Jeep."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/beep (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).