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

Authorities issued an Amber Alert, and Alejandro’s body was found the following day in a canal near the Miccosukee Golf & Country Club, at Southwest 138th Court and 62nd Street. —Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 12 May 2026

Following an Amber Alert, Rodriguez Singh fled the country with her husband and their other children. —Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 12 May 2026

The Los Angeles Police Department issued an Amber Alert around 10:00 p.m. on Monday, April 13, announcing that Messiah was reported missing, according to a LAPD news release. —Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 15 Apr. 2026

Athena was reported missing, and eventually an Amber Alert was issued, leading to 72 hours of searching. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 14 Apr. 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

Rhymes for Amber Alert

• assert
• avert
• dessert
• divert
• evert
• exert
• inert
• insert
• invert
• nightshirt
• overt
• revert

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