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

The alert was still beeping hours later, when an investigator from the Medical Examiner’s Office arrived. —Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Nov. 2025

Nearby, a life support machine whooshed and beeped steadily. —Rick Jervis, USA Today, 22 Nov. 2025

Noun

There’s the click when the turnstile turns, a beep when the ticket is accepted. —Andy Mitten, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025

And the beeps only get louder when all that happens within days of a disorderly Bitcoin breakdown and the GenZ-courting brokerage firm Robinhood starting a service to send literal cash to clients via a delivery app. —Michael Santoli, CNBC, 15 Nov. 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