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 …

—Herald News (Fall River, MA)

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 Amber Alert issued for two Dallas children, last seen on Thursday afternoon, has been canceled after the children were found safe, Dallas police said. —Cbs Texas Staff, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026

Police issue missing endangered alerts when a missing person does not meet critera for certain missing alerts, like an Amber Alert, a Silver Alert or a critical missing alert, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. —Steven Martinez, jsonline.com, 25 Mar. 2026

State investigators issued an Amber Alert early Monday morning for a teenage girl believed to be in Pueblo, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. —Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 16 Mar. 2026

To issue an Amber Alert, law enforcement must determine that specific statutory conditions are met, including the age of the child, law enforcement’s belief in imminent danger of serious injury or death, and the sufficiency of existing information to assist in recovery. —Itay Ravid, The Conversation, 13 Mar. 2026

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