pager

¹ American  

[pey-jer] / ˈpeɪ dʒər /

noun

1. beeper.

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pager ² American  

[pey-jer] / ˈpeɪ dʒər /

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.

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pager British  

/ 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)

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pager Cultural  

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.

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Etymology

Origin of pager¹

1965–70; page ² ( def. ) + -er ¹

Origin of pager¹

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

Example Sentences

Whether it was a serious crash, chimney fire or a cow trapped in a pond, when their pager went off, they were first on the scene.

From BBC

"The pager started beeping non-stop and, on the screen, it said 'alert'," Adam, who did not want to use his real name for safety reasons, said.

From BBC

This decision is one of the best things about “Holland,” which brims with recently retro production design in Windows desktop computers, early cell phones and pagers, tapes rented from video stores and high-rise dad jeans.

From Salon

The beep of Dan Crook's emergency pager signals another job and he rushes off to the ambulance arrival bay.

From BBC

The two ex-Mossad agents told US CBS News how the service duped Hezbollah into buying thousands of rigged walkie-talkies and pagers without realising they were made in Israel.

From BBC

Related Words

• intercom