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cheep

[cheep]
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verb (used without object)
  1. to chirp; peep.
  2. Chiefly South Midland U.S. to reveal or tell a secret (usually used in the phrase cheep it).
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verb (used with object)
  1. to express by cheeps.
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noun
  1. a chirp.
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Origin of cheep

First recorded in 1505–15; imitative
Related formscheep·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cheep

Historical Examples

  • On the island there was not a cheep nor a flutter to break the spell.

    The Huntress

    Hulbert Footner

  • It is variable and may be written chee-rp, cheep, or chir-eep.

  • As he did so there was a faint "cheep, cheep" from below—the herrings were still alive.

    The Deemster

    Hall Caine

  • Not a crow, nor a jay, nor a chickadee had heart enough to cheep.

    Roof and Meadow

    Dallas Lore Sharp

  • In perfect silence, broken only by the "cheep" of the oars in the locks, the five boats swept down on the doomed frigate.

    Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer

    Cyrus Townsend Brady

British Dictionary definitions for cheep

cheep

noun
  1. the short weak high-pitched cry of a young bird; chirp
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verb
  1. (intr) (of young birds) to utter characteristic shrill sounds
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Derived Formscheeper, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cheep

v.

1510s, of imitative origin, originally Scottish. Related: Cheeped; cheeping; cheeper. The noun is attested by 1774.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper