bulletin

noun bul·le·tin \ ˈbu̇-lə-tᵊn also ˈbə- \

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Definition of bulletin

1 : a brief public notice issuing usually from an authoritative source; specifically : a brief news item intended for immediate publication or broadcast

2 : periodical; especially : the organ of an institution or association

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Examples of bulletin in a Sentence

The television program was interrupted for a news bulletin.
picks up a church bulletin every Sunday after Mass

Recent Examples of bulletin from the Web

Cabañas and his team claimed there wasn't sufficient information to issue an evacuation warning based on bulletins sent early Sunday by Guatemala's National Seismological Volcanic and Meteorological Institute.

— dakin andone, CNN, "Head of Guatemala's disaster agency facing calls to resign after Fuego eruption," 7 June 2018
SUBSCRIBE TODAY Social media also continues to play a bigger role at the sometimes stodgy National Hurricane Center, which just two years ago abandoned its all caps bulletins left from the days of the Teletype.

— jenny staletovich, miamiherald, "Hurricane season is here, and so is a new arsenal of warnings," 30 May 2018
Schlitterbahn's letter said that a manufacturer's service bulletin extended the life of a part for another year, rendering the Labor Department's claims inaccurate.

— steve vockrodt, kansascity, "Schlitterbahn disputes audit, won't open rides until concerns are 'fully addressed' | The Kansas City Star," 23 May 2018
On a Saturday morning in January, Hawaiians scrambled for shelter after a state government bulletin that a ballistic missile was headed their way.

— clyde haberman, New York Times, "‘This Is Not a Drill’: The Growing Threat of Nuclear Annihilation," 13 May 2018
Hoodline provides all sorts of neighborhood information online, and, from time to time, botanical and anatomical bulletins.

— leah garchik, San Francisco Chronicle, "On Castro Street, a ‘showy canopy’ falls down on the job," 8 May 2018
However, Naperville police reminded drivers to lock up vehicles and remove valuables from view in order to avoid burglaries via a Naper Notify bulletin.

— rafael guerrero, Naperville Sun, "Naperville Police investigating a dozen overnight car break-ins," 7 May 2018
Given the combination of high danger and clearing weather in time for the weekend, the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center planned to issue a special avalanche bulletin warning of the danger Friday afternoon.

— zaz hollander, Anchorage Daily News, "Heavy snowfall and high winds on Kenai Peninsula trigger unusual avalanche warning," 9 Mar. 2018
This breaking news bulletin will be updated as more information becomes available.

— kyra gurney and monique o. madan, miamiherald, "Thief steals unmarked Miami Beach police car and crashes it in South Beach, cops say | Miami Herald," 27 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bulletin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of bulletin

French, from Middle French, from bullette seal, notice, diminutive of bulle seal, from Medieval Latin bulla

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1765

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

bulletin Synonyms

Synonyms

ad, advertisement, announcement, communiqué, notice, notification, posting, release;

bill, billboard, placard, playbill, poster, show bill, sign;

broadcast, cablecast, newscast, telecast;

advertising, billing, blurb, come-on, commercial, message, pitch, plugola, spot, word;

communication, dispatch, report;

annunciation, declaration, edict, proclamation, promulgation, pronouncement;

ballyhoo, boost, buildup, campaign, plug, promo, promotion, propaganda, publicity;

Other Broadcasting Terms

continuity, dissolve, fade, feed, remote, residual, spike, wipe

bulletin

verb

Definition of bulletin

bulletined; bulletining; bulletins

transitive verb

: to make public by bulletin

First Known Use of bulletin

1812

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

BULLETIN Defined for English Language Learners

bulletin

noun

Definition of bulletin for English Language Learners

: a quick announcement from an official source about an important piece of news
: a short piece of writing that an organization publishes to give news about itself