beep

1 of 2

verb

ˈbēp 

beeped; beeping; beeps

transitive verb

1

: to cause to sound

beep a horn

2

: to send a message to (someone) with a beeper

Dr. Khoury was beeped to perform an emergency operation at American University Hospital.

—Scot Macleod

intransitive verb

1

: to sound a horn

2

: to make a beep

beep

2 of 2

noun

: a short usually high-pitched sound (as from a horn or an electronic device) that serves as a signal or warning

Examples of beep in a Sentence

Verb

Why did you beep your horn at her?

She beeped at me first.

Something is beeping in the kitchen.

I could hear a beeping noise.

Noun

the beep of a car horn

Please leave a message after the beep.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Modern appliances are designed to beep when alerting you of a fault, a finished cycle, and more. —Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 June 2025

Immediately, the metal detector starts beeping, signaling something is underneath. —Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 June 2025

Noun

The only maintenance needed is the occasional battery replacement, which will typically be signaled with a beep from the device. —Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 June 2025

Their bathroom floor also pooled with water after showering, and noise from other apartments, like the shrill beeps of a low-battery smoke detector next door, carried through the paper-thin walls. —Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 22 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

from beep-beep, imitative of the sound of a horn, or verbal derivative of beep entry 2

Noun

earlier beep-beep, imitative of the sound of a horn

First Known Use

Verb

1933, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1943, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for beep

• cheap
• creep
• deep
• heap
• jeep
• keep
• leap
• peep
• reap
• seep
• sheep
• sleep

Kids Definition

beep

noun

ˈbēp

: a sound that signals or warns

beep verb