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

While at the trailer, an Amber Alert for the two victims came through the suspects' phones, spooking them. —Audrey Conklin, FOXNews.com, 8 May 2025

The missing person’s report triggered an Amber Alert and a large police search, prosecutors said. —Nicole Acosta, People.com, 6 May 2025

Police search for abducted child and mother According to the Amber Alert shared by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Alejandro-Benitez is approximately 2 feet tall and weighs 26 pounds. —Melina Khan, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025

The Amber Alert system is used widely throughout the U.S., with 82 plans in place to help recover children after they have been determined missing, enabling some missing child reports to be resolved. —Mohammed Soliman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Apr. 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