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

To squeeze Cabrera into the rotation on Sunday, the Cubs bumped David Peterson to the bullpen for the time being and optioned Javier Assad to Triple-A Iowa. — Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026

Matthews gave way to a stout bullpen that allowed just one hit over the final five frames. — ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

Adrian Houser, who spent more than a month in the bullpen, returned to the rotation last week and pitched six scoreless innings. — Michael Nowels, Mercury News, 17 Aug. 2026

Both baserunners were aboard when Royals manager Matt Quatraro opted to dip into his bullpen. — Kansas City Star, 16 Aug. 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