bullpen

noun

bull·​pen ˈbu̇l-ˌpen 

 also  ˈbəl-

variants or less commonly bull pen

plural bullpens also bull pens

1

: a large cell where prisoners are detained until brought into court

Commonly called the "bullpen," the court lockup is behind the courtroom and is used as a holding area for prisoners …

—Bruce A. Scruton

2

a

: a place on a baseball field where pitchers warm up before they start pitching

In the bullpen, Goose Gossage is warming up.

—Tony Scherman

b

: the relief pitchers of a baseball team

After five innings Seattle led 14-2 and, with baseball's best bullpen waiting to protect the lead should starter Aaron Sele falter …

—Sports Illustrated

3

: an open work area not divided into offices

… an alternative to the traditional combination of private offices for the brass and bullpens for the workers.

—Carl Ruff

Examples of bullpen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Bumgarner comes out of the bullpen to pitch five scoreless innings on two days’ rest as the Giants held off the Kansas City Royals 3-2. 2017 — Justin Rose mounts the third-largest final-round comeback in PGA TOUR history to win the WGC-HSBC Champions. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2024

That’s enough for Los Angeles professionals like My Lovely Attorney to complete a day’s driving to and from Downtown LA without need to call the gas engine from the bullpen. —Mark Ewing, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024

The way in which the Yankees utilize their bullpen will be heavily scrutinized in Game 2 as well after manager Aaron Boone’s decision for Nestor Cortes to pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning. —Issy Ronald, CNN, 26 Oct. 2024

Of course, the Yankees were sixth, so their bullpen is hardly a shortcoming. —Mark Osborne, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2024

The bullpen group has worked very hard for the limited money with a 4-0 record and a 2.94 ERA over 49 innings. —Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 20 Oct. 2024

The Game 4 experience against the Padres will give the bullpen a rallying point this time around, Phillips said. —Bill Plunkett, Orange County Register, 19 Oct. 2024

The intrigue: Cleveland's strategy in the playoffs has been to get ahead early and rely on its stellar bullpen. —Troy Smith, Axios, 17 Oct. 2024

Once the Dodgers turned the game over to the bullpen, the Mets never showed another flicker of life. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1809, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

bull pen

noun

1

: a large cell where prisoners are held until brought into court

2

a

: a place on a baseball field where relief pitchers warm up

b

: the relief pitchers of a team