bleep

Everyday

1. A short, high electronic sound, like from a machine or phone. tree →
2. To make such a sound. tree →
3. To cover a rude word on TV or radio with a bleep sound. tree →
4. (UK) To call someone, such as a doctor, using a pager. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life: machines, microwaves and alarms bleep. On TV, swear words are bleeped out. In stories it shows a robot or machine. Phrases: bleep out, bleep-bleep.

Examples

• The microwave gave a bleep when the food was ready. tree →
• The heart monitor bleeped steadily. tree →
• They bleeped out the rude word on TV. tree →
• My watch bleeps every hour. tree →
• The nurse bleeped the doctor. tree →
• What the bleep was that? (a polite way to avoid swearing) tree →

Note

Similar: beep. «Bleep» is often used to replace a swear word in speech. In maths problems, «it bleeps every 5 seconds» is a rate to count with.