boop

[ boop ]

verb

, Informal.

1. to playfully tap the nose:

   As tempting as it may be to sidle up for a selfie or to boop a seal's nose, these are wild animals and you'll have to keep your distance.

noun

1. Informal. a playful tap on the nose:

   My greyhound's got such a long snoot that I can't help but give it a boop.

2. a short, relatively low-pitched tone produced by an electronic device as a signal:

   If you find yourself overwhelmed by beeps and boops, customize your notification preferences to turn off sounds or only send you alerts during certain hours.

Word History and Origins

Origin of boop¹

First recorded in 1880–85 boop fordef 3; 2000–05 boop fordef 2; of imitative origin

Example Sentences

Of all classic cartoon characters, the most involved with the supernatural and the surreal was Fleischer Studios’ Betty Boop, whose jazzy adventures with spooks and demons can be easily found on YouTube.

From Los Angeles Times

In “Betty Boop’s Halloween Party,” also from 1933, a nasty gorilla interrupts Betty’s happy soiree, attended by a variety of woodland and jungle animals, and in “Red Hot Mama,” from 1934, Betty dreams herself in hell, where she dances with devils and anthropomorphic flames.

From Los Angeles Times

I love old cartoons, and I was watching a documentary on Fleischer Studios who did Popeye and Betty Boop, and one of the cartoonists was saying, whatever you do, no matter what it is, it’s gotta have finesse.

From Los Angeles Times

This was all the wind-up to the “Boop!” that sent Trump over the edge.

From Salon

Now, instead of picking it up 40 times a day, unlocking it, putting it back, recharging, now all of a sudden it’s just going to beep and boop on my desktop, and I can use it there.

From New York Times