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

Fullmer stated that authorities issued an Amber Alert on June 23 after learning of a 2022 revelation by Jeffs. —Toria Sheffield, People.com, 5 July 2025

The goal of an Amber Alert is to instantly galvanize the community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of a missing child, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. —Liz Kellar, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

Earlier this year, the legislature passed a bill to create something called a Turquoise Alert—like an Amber Alert, but for when Native Americans go missing. —Dateline Nbc, NBC news, 2 July 2025

The family wasn’t stopped because the Amber Alert hadn’t been issued yet. —Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 July 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