Amber Alert

noun

variants or less commonly Amber alert or amber alert

plural Amber Alerts also Amber alerts or amber alerts

US

: a widely publicized bulletin that alerts the public to a recently abducted or missing child

… State Police activated the Amber Alert in search of a male infant who they believed was kidnapped …

—Fall River (Massachusetts) News

State Police put out an Amber alert …

—Travis Andersen

… sends a text message … for emergency alerts (like hurricanes and amber alerts) …

—Greg Ganske

Amber Alerts are issued when a child under 18 is abducted and believed to be in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.

—Anthony Maenza

compare blue alert, silver alert

Examples of Amber Alert in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What is an Amber Alert? AMBER Alert is a nationwide notification system used to alert the public of missing children under the age of 18. —Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2024

The girl was the subject of an Amber Alert that prompted a police pursuit after the Brunswick Division of Police located the child in the city of Brunswick, according to the Medina County Sheriff’s Office. —Landon Mion, Fox News, 2 Dec. 2024

An Amber Alert was issued with Alexander’s vehicle description, and later that evening, the Brunswick Division of Police located Alexander and his daughter, the sheriff's office said in a press release. —Samira Asma-Sadeque, People.com, 27 Nov. 2024

Also, the state's endangered missing child alert does not send alerts directly to people's phones like an Amber Alert. —Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

from the U.S. Justice Department AMBER Alert Program that issues such bulletins, originally from Amber Hagerman †1996 U.S. victim of an abduction, later read as an acronym for America's Missing Broadcast Emergency Response

First Known Use

1997, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

Amber alert

noun

: a widely publicized bulletin that alerts the public to a recently abducted or missing child

Legal Definition

Amber Alert

noun

: a widely publicized bulletin that alerts the public to a recently abducted or missing child

Etymology

from the U.S. Justice Dept. AMBER Alert Program that issues such bulletins, originally from Amber Hagerman †1996 victim of an abduction, later read as America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response