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

One of those main areas that needs to be addressed is the bullpen, as the Cubs didn't have much talent at the back end of their bullpen. —Drew Vonscio, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025

The Giants’ bullpen let them down in 2016 when the Chicago Cubs won three of four to capture an NL Division Series on their way to a championship, and Bochy stepped down in San Francisco after the 2019 season. —Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 6 Nov. 2025

In Game 7, the starting pitcher came out of the bullpen in the 7th inning in an effort to outlast the Los Angeles Dodgers. —Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025

The Padres as of last month had not ruled out transitioning Mason Miller, Adrián Morejón or even Jeremiah Estrada to the rotation, but even that would open up another hole in a bullpen that saw closer Robert Suarez opt out of the last two years of his deal earlier this week. —Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1809, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bullpen

• again
• airmen
• amen
• culmen
• flagmen
• gunmen
• lawmen
• oilmen
• playpen
• schoolmen
• tegmen
• ben

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