Green’s Dictionary of Slang

beeper n.

a pager.

1973		R. Daley Target Blue 297: Teddy kept turning it back on, explaining that it was a beeper, a miniature walkie-talkie.
1984		S. King Thinner (1986) 96: My beeper beeps and I have to leave.
1993		E. Richards Cocaine True 92: She hated the dealers coming in with their beepers.
2001		(con. 1985) Cion at HipHopSpot.com 30 May 🌐 ‘My name is G-Slice / and I got the spice / and when I rock the microphone / I rock it real nice / I got a fly pair of sneakers / a funky fly hat / and I just bought a beeper / now all I really need now is a fly car / a funky fly max, or maybe a Saab’ (laughing) Remember this was in 85 so those terms I’m using was hot then.

In compounds

beeper boy (n.) (also beeper-freak) [from the use of the pager in the pre-mobile phone era + -freak sfx]

(US) a drug dealer.

1985		T.R. Houser Central Sl. 9: beeper-freak A cocaine dealer who uses a pager to regulate his cocaine deliveries.
1996		P. McFedries Word Spy 🌐 beeper boy, noun A drug dealer who uses a pager, a cellular phone, or other communications equipment to arrange deals.