buzzer

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From buzz +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈbʌzə/
• (US) IPA: /ˈbʌzəɹ/
• Rhymes: -ʌzə(ɹ)

Noun

buzzer (plural buzzers)

1. An insect that buzzes.

   And wants not buzzers to infect his ear / With pestilent speeches of his father's death. — Shakespeare.

   • 1895, George Meredith, The Amazing Marriage:

     ... it left, however, a bee at his ear and an itch to transfer the buzzer's attentions and tease his darling; for she had betrayed herself as right good game.

2. A device that makes a buzzing sound.

   • If you think you know the answer to the question, hit the buzzer as fast as you can.

3. (US slang) A police badge.
   • 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin 2011, p. 28:

     I flipped my wallet open on her desk and let her look at the buzzer pinned to the flap.

Translations

device

• Arabic: طنان (ar) (ṭannān) m
• Bulgarian: зумер (bg) (zúmer) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 蜂鳴器 (cmn), 蜂鸣器 (cmn) (fēngmíngqì), 蜂音器 (cmn) (fēngyīnqì)

• Czech: bzučák (cs) m
• Dutch: zoemer (nl) m
• Finnish: summeri (fi)

• French: bipeur (fr) m
• German: Summer (de) m, Buzzer (de) m
• Hebrew: זמזם (he) (zamzam) m
• Japanese: ブザー (ja) (buzā)
• Korean: 버저 (ko) (beojeo)
• Polish: brzęczyk (pl)
• Russian: зуммер (ru) (zúmmer) m
• Spanish: bocina (es) f