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

Lacking two relievers who were traded three weeks ago to playoff contenders, the Giants’ bullpen held on. —Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025

Before the two players could collide, benches cleared and relievers poured out of the bullpens and down to the infield. —Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025

Managing just two hits against starter Freddy Peralta and the Brewers bullpen didn’t help the number of opportunities. —Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025

Two wins were against the Yankees on July 4-5 and seven more were obtained July 20-27 right before a trade deadline that saw the Mets seemingly secure a lockdown bullpen by adding Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley in trades from the Cardinals and Giants. —Larry Fleisher, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025

Cash went to the bullpen for the sixth, and the Giants took a 1-0 lead. —Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 Aug. 2025

After being called from the Rockies bullpen for the fourth time within the span of a week, Herget arrived at a news conference with a humorous T-shirt that referenced the state of his throwing arm. —Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 17 Aug. 2025

Moore didn’t start any of the three games against the Dodgers earlier this week, which could at least partly be explained by the Dodgers having four lefties in the bullpen. —Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 17 Aug. 2025

And Tuesday’s 10-5 Padres victory went 11 innings, prompting manager Mike Shildt to use seven of the nine arms in his bullpen. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025

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