A short, high-pitched electronic sound, typically used as a signal or warning.
Onomatopoeia imitating the sound itself, first recorded in the 1920s with the rise of electronic devices. The word evolved alongside technology, from early radio signals to modern computerized alerts.
Beep is a perfect example of how technology creates new words - before electronic devices, this sound simply didn't exist in human experience. Now beeps are so ubiquitous that we've developed different emotional responses to different beeps, from the cheerful microwave beep to the ominous smoke detector beep!
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