pager

¹

[ pey-jer ]

noun

1. something, as a book or brochure, having a specified number of pages page (usually used in combination):

   Her latest report was a 12-pager.

pager

²

[ pey-jer ]

noun

1. beeper ( def 3 ).

pager

/ ˈpeɪdʒə /

noun

1. a small electronic device, capable of receiving short messages; usually carried by people who need to be contacted urgently (e.g. doctors)

pager

1. A wireless device that, when activated, signals the bearer to contact either a predetermined party or the party indicated on the device itself. Often called a beeper for the annoying beeps some pagers use to alert their owner.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pager¹

First recorded in 1965–70; page ¹ + -er ¹

Origin of pager²

1965–70; page ²( def ) + -er ¹

Example Sentences

He told her that the deliveries were for a cell phone and pager business.

From Time

I’m thinking of leaving the cash in a little envelope outside my local theater, the one whose welcome song and dance still includes the warning to “turn off all pagers and cellphones.”

From Vox

When Gross brought his newly invented pager to a Philadelphia medical convention in 1949, doctors responded in horror that it would interrupt Sunday golf games.

From Nautilus

He installed two-way car radios and worked on an early pager system for doctors, which required the whole building to be wired.

From The Daily Beast

As part of his job move, Zanzi says, he was given a pager so he would be accessible to Travolta around the clock.

From The Daily Beast

Back then, the BlackBerry was little more than a two-way pager with a keyboard.

From The Daily Beast

Blinker got a pager and looked up the movements of Sunday steamboats.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• intercom