A short, high-pitched electronic sound used to cover up or signal something; to make or cover something with such a sound.
First appeared in English in the 1950s as onomatopoeia—a word that imitates the sound it describes. It came from radio and television technology when censors needed a quick way to mask profanity on broadcasts.
The bleep is actually a brilliant invention of broadcast television: instead of silence making swearing obvious, the sound itself becomes funny and less offensive, which is why bleep compilations became entertainment rather than just censorship.
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