beeper

American  

[bee-per] / ˈbi pər /

noun

• beepers
  plural

1. a device that connects into a telephone circuit and transmits a periodic signal as an indication that the conversation over the circuit is being recorded.

2. a similar device attached to a free-ranging animal as an aid to learning its habits; biotelemeter.

3. Also called pager.  a pocket-size electronic device whose signal notifies a person of an important message, sometimes displaying the telephone number to be called.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• beepers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of beeper

First recorded in 1945–50; beep + -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beeper beepers

Stephen explained: "Everything was geared up to the beeper going off and you being ready."

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026

“I keep a beeper with me at all times,” Brown said the day Herzog resigned.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2024

Out with the future-forward A.I. holograms, in with a kitschy cameo from a beeper.

From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2021

Who did Nick Fury ping with his beeper before turning to ash?

From Slate ● Apr. 26, 2018

Even with his beeper which let him know who was trying to contact him, and his wheels which let him style around, he was in a kind of grave.

From "Slam!" by Walter Dean Myers

We laugh, we debate whether we’re a Charlotte or a Miranda and we wonder what it would’ve been like to carry beepers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2024

When he traveled back then there weren't cell phones or beepers or anything.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2023

As beepers faded out of style, Klater sought a new business model.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 20, 2021

But when he tries to sell beepers to her staff of TV writers, she loses it and tells him to leave.

From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2020

Full of people wearing doctor- nurse clothes with college-degree posture and beepers.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson