bullpen

noun

bull·​pen ˈbu̇l-ˌpen 

also ˈbəl-

variants or less commonly bull pen

plural bullpens also bull pens

1

: a large cell where prisoners are detained until brought into court

Commonly called the "bullpen," the court lockup is behind the courtroom and is used as a holding area for prisoners …

—Bruce A. Scruton

2

a

: a place on a baseball field where pitchers warm up before they start pitching

In the bullpen, Goose Gossage is warming up.

—Tony Scherman

b

: the relief pitchers of a baseball team

After five innings Seattle led 14-2 and, with baseball's best bullpen waiting to protect the lead should starter Aaron Sele falter …

—Sports Illustrated

3

: an open work area not divided into offices

… an alternative to the traditional combination of private offices for the brass and bullpens for the workers.

—Carl Ruff

Examples of bullpen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Coming up next Crochet will make his next start on Monday against the Phillies at JetBlue Park, and Zack Kelly, Seth Martinez, Ryan Watson, Tayron Guerrero and Tyler Samaniego are scheduled to come out of the bullpen behind him. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2026

Michael Winter came out of the bullpen to collect the final out of the fifth inning. —David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 8 Mar. 2026

Any impact Hodge might have in the Cubs’ bullpen this year is now on pause. —Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 8 Mar. 2026

Jones tried to find outs with his bullpen, including Kenley Jansen’s first action of the tournament, but the Dominican Republic kept finding baserunners. —Noah Gulley, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2026

Ariel Jurado blanked Team Rubio for five innings, a trend Panama’s bullpen mostly followed without hiccups until Puerto Rico loaded the bases in the ninth and Willi Castro drew a walk to drive in the tying run and force extra innings. —Maria Torres, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026

Nowhere is that more evident than in the bullpen, where there could be as many as three jobs available and as many as seven pitchers competing. —Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 8 Mar. 2026

Gillaspie has a shot to be pitching out of the bullpen at the start of the year. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026

The 20-year-old, who made his MLB debut in 2025, came out of the bullpen during the fifth inning in a scoreless game. —Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 7 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1809, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bullpen

• again
• airmen
• amen
• culmen
• flagmen
• gunmen
• lawmen
• oilmen
• playpen
• schoolmen
• tegmen
• ben

Kids Definition

bull pen

noun

1

: a large cell where prisoners are held until brought into court

2

a

: a place on a baseball field where relief pitchers warm up

b

: the relief pitchers of a team