beep

American  

[beep] / bip /

noun

1. a short, relatively high-pitched tone produced by a horn, electronic device, or the like as a signal, summons, or warning.

2. one of the periodic signals sounded by a beeper.

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verb (used without object)

1. to make or emit such a sound.

   When the timer beeps, take the cake out of the oven.

verb (used with object)

1. to sound (a horn, warning signal, etc.).

   impatient drivers beeping their horns.

2. to announce, warn, summon, etc., by beeping.

   The doctor was beeped to call the hospital.

beep British  

/ biːp /

noun

1. a short high-pitched sound, esp one made by the horn of a car, bicycle, etc, or by electronic apparatus

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verb

1. to make or cause to make such a noise

Other Word Forms

• beeper noun

Etymology

Origin of beep

First recorded in 1925–30; imitative

Explanation

A beep is a brief warning sound. You might give a quick beep on your car horn to let a bicyclist know you're passing her on the road. Your friend's voice mail might say, "Leave a message after the beep!" and your smoke alarm might emit an annoying series of beeps when its battery is dying. In either case, you'll hear a high-pitched, brief tone. The word is imitative — it sounds like what it means — and relatively new, only as old as the car horns it imitates. Beep was first an interjection in the 1920s, and a noun and a verb by the end of the decade.

Example Sentences

Until then, drills buzz into concrete, construction lifts beep loudly, workers iron curtains and more art comes out of storage waiting for a moment in the sun.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

When she heard the beep to start, Vonn dug her pink ski poles into the snow and set off on a run that already ranked as one of the most audacious in Olympic history.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

The funkiest thing a “radioactive shrimp” would do—that is, if you put a radiation sensor over such a crustacean, says Pillai—is beep.

From Slate • Aug. 21, 2025

Despite our many requests, the Florida Department of Corrections has not gotten him a hearing aid that doesn’t beep loudly in his ears, so he prefers to stay in his own, soundless world.

From Salon • Aug. 17, 2025

And he remembered everything about it, and also everything about everything else, and why couldn't he forget and beep.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green