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

Child Alert Notification and mirrored the Amber plan — which is now known as Amber Alert. —Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 12 Feb. 2025

The Athena Alert is intended to bridge the gap between the time a child goes missing and the time a statewide Amber Alert is issued. —Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Feb. 2025

Day, who is suspected of being the child's father, was last seen at the residence the following morning, according to an active Amber Alert issued in Wisconsin. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025

An Amber Alert has been issued for a pregnant Wisconsin teenager who is believed to be with a 40-year-old man who is suspected of being her child’s father. —Daniel S. Levine, People.com, 6 Feb. 2025

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