beep

See also: веер

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: bēp, IPA^(key): /biːp/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːp

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “how old is this word?”)

Noun

beep (plural beeps)

1. The sound produced by the horn of a car, or any similar sound.
2. A short, electronically produced tone.
3. A message sent to a pager device.
   • 1992, Ice Cube (lyrics and music), “It Was A Good Day”, in The Predator:

     I got a beep from Kym, and she can fuck all night.

4. (computing) Synonym of bell (“bell character”).

Synonyms

• (electronically produced): bleep; see also Thesaurus:beep

Derived terms

• beep out
• beep test
• beepy
• roger beep

 

Translations

the sound of the horn of a car

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嘟嘟響／嘟嘟响 (dūdū xiǎng), 嘟嘟聲／嘟嘟声 (dūdū shēng), 嘟 (zh) (dū), 嘟嘟 (zh) (dūdū), 叭叭 (zh) (bābā), 叭 (zh)

• Finnish: tööttäys (fi)
• French: pouet (fr)
• German: Hupen (de) n, Tuten n
• Hungarian: tütűt
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Navajo: biib
• Romanian: tit (ro) n
• Russian: гудо́к (ru) m (gudók), клаксо́н (ru) m (klaksón), сигна́л (ru) m (signál)
• Swedish: tut (sv)
• Thai: ปี๊น (bpíin)
• Turkish: düt
• Vietnamese: bíp

electronically produced tone

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嗶／哔 (zh) (bì, bī), 嗶聲／哔声 (bìshēng, bīshēng)

• Czech: pípnutí n, zapípání n
• Esperanto: pepo
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: piippaus (fi)
• French: bip (fr)
• German: Piepen (de) n
• Italian: bip m
• Japanese: ビープ音 (bīpu-on), 発信音 (はっしんおん, hasshin'on)
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: pīhō, pīpi
• Persian: بیپ (bip)
• Romanian: bip n
• Russian: гудо́к (ru) m (gudók), сигна́л (ru) m (signál)
• Spanish: pitido (es) m
• Swedish: tut (sv), pip (sv)
• Thai: ปี๊ด (bpíit), ตี๊ด (dtíit)
• Turkish: bip (tr)

Verb

beep (third-person singular simple present beeps, present participle beeping, simple past and past participle beeped)

1. (transitive) To sound (something that makes a beep).

   Coordinate terms: boop, bop

   The motorists in the traffic jam were getting more and more frustrated and started beeping their horns.

2. (transitive, informal, euphemistic) To have sexual intercourse with - referring to the bleep tone used to censor obscene words in broadcasts

   Jason beeped Sharlene after they had drunk a few beers.

3. (intransitive) To produce a beep.
4. (transitive) To contact (someone via) a pager device.
   • 1981, Decisions and Orders of the National Labor Relations Board (U.S.), volume 253, page 1060:

     Burkat told him on the evening of Sunday, July 1, that Kritch “would have to terminate Mr. Waugaman on Monday when he came in, for not answering the beeper.” […] However, when considered in light of […] Justak’s assertion in Waugaman’s termination notice that Respondent had unsuccessfully tried to “beep” him at 6 p.m. […]

   • 2013, Tonshea Carroll Moore, Lanette Zavala, Wedding Vows Under Fire‎^[1], page 138:

     His first notion was to call her on her mobile phone device. After all, she had neither called nor beeped him to tell him any plans in advance.

5. (transitive) To telephone a person, only allowing the phone to ring once, in order to request a call back.

   Susan beeped Jessica, and then Jessica called her back, because Susan didn't have enough credit on her phone to make the call.

   • 2008, Deborah Eden, The Destroyer‎^[2], page 157:

     He should have been here at two-fifteen the way he drove. I beeped him, but he didn't ring back.

Synonyms

• (sound (a car horn)): honk, hoot, sound, toot
• (to have intercourse with): sleep with, fuck; see also Thesaurus:copulate with
• (telephoning): flash

Derived terms

• beeper

 

Translations

to produce a beep sound

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: pípat impf, zapípat pf, pípnout pf, troubit (cs) impf, zatroubit pf
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: piipata (fi)
• French: biper (fr)
• German: piepen (de), hupen (de) (car), tuten (de) (horn)
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: pīhō
• Romanian: bipăi
• Russian: биби́кать (ru) impf (bibíkatʹ)
• Thai: ร้องปี้ด, ร้องตี้ด, บีบแตร, กดแตร

See also

• pip

 

Etymology 2

Blend of big +‎ jeep. From being bigger versions of the general purpose superlight truck, the Willys MB "Jeep"

Noun

beep (plural beeps)

1. (US, military, slang, dated, World War II) A 1/2-ton general purpose military light truck
2. (US, military, slang, dated, World War II, by extension) A 3/4-ton general purpose military medium truck
3. (US, military, slang, dated, World War II) Especially, the Dodge WC series U.S. Army WWII military trucks, in 1/2-ton 3/4-ton 1-ton variants

Coordinate terms

• duck
• jeep
• seep

 

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English beep.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bip/

Noun

beep n (plural beep-uri)

1. beep

Declension

Declension of beep

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) beep	beep-ul	(niște) beep-uri	beep-urile
genitive/dative	(unui) beep	beep-ului	(unor) beep-uri	beep-urilor
vocative	beep-ule		beep-urilor

References

• beep in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)