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 man may be from California, the Amber Alert said. —Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 20 Sep. 2025

The Context As of December 2024, the Amber Alert program has contributed to the recovery of 1,268 children nationwide, according to the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs. —Jenna Sundel hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025

WEAs are used in Colorado to target specific regions in danger, such as an area that needs to evacuate or for an Amber Alert. —Micki Olson, The Conversation, 16 Sep. 2025

An Amber Alert was issued for Noel the morning of March 25. —Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Sep. 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