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

The Texas Department of Public Safety issued an Amber Alert on Monday for 6-month-old Nova Brady, last seen outside Dallas with two adults. —Annasofia Scheve, San Antonio Express-News, 30 Sep. 2024

Panettiere will next star in Amber Alert, which hits theaters Sept. 27. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 18 Sep. 2024

The Amber Alert star, who for years had struggled with drugs and alcohol addiction, was clean and sober after spending time at an in-patient rehab facility in early 2020. —Gillian Telling, Peoplemag, 18 Sep. 2024

An Amber Alert was issued in Kansas City Wednesday as authorities searched for a and child who was kidnapped at gunpoint. —Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 18 July 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