student asking question

What does "beeped" mean here? Does it refer to the beeping sound? How can I use this expression?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Yes, "beeped" comes from the noun "beep" which is a short, high-pitched sound made from an electronic machine. "Beeped" in this case is used as a verb to describe pushing buttons on a machine which make a "beeping" sound. This word was often used to describe pushing buttons on a landline phone to get into the messages that people left on the phone machine. However, this word is not very common to use anymore because a lot of people don't have landline phones, and this word isn't used for cell phones since modern cell phones do not have physical buttons that make beeping sounds when you press them. So the word "beep" as a verb is not common to use in this case unless you are using it only to describe the "beeping" sound of something. Ex: The fire alarm beeped loudly. Ex: The oven won't stop beeping.

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