1 B2 neutral
To contact and summon someone to a location using a pager or public address system.
"The nurse paged in the on-call surgeon as soon as the patient's condition deteriorated."
separable
page in
C1 neutral separable transitive
To summon someone using a pager or public address system, or (computing) to load data into active memory from storage.
In plain English
Call someone to come somewhere using a beeper or announcement system, or (for computers) load data from storage into working memory.
What does "page in" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 C1 neutral
(Computing, technical) To load a block of data from secondary storage (e.g. disk) into main memory (RAM) as part of virtual memory management.
"When the program accessed that memory address, the OS had to page in the relevant data from the swap file."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To bring a page (of data or a person) in — fairly transparent in both senses.
Actually means
Call someone to come somewhere using a beeper or announcement system, or (for computers) load data from storage into working memory.
Usage tip
The 'summoning by pager' sense is becoming dated as pagers are less common. Still used in hospitals and large facilities. The computing/OS sense (virtual memory management) is technical jargon.
Words that pair with "page in"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
doctor specialist technician data memory process
How to conjugate "page in"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
page in
I/you/we/they
3rd person
pages in
he/she/it
Past simple
paged in
yesterday
Past participle
paged in
have + pp
-ing form
paging in
continuous
Hear "page in" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "page in" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Other ways to say "page in"
Swap in when you want variety — tap a linked one to explore it.
Keep exploring
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