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

Before a crowd of 20,796 at Tropicana Field, the Yankees rallied against the Rays bullpen. —CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026

The Dodgers won the first battle when Ohtani led off the first inning with a home run into the Texas bullpen in right, his fourth of the season, tying it at 1-1. —Dan Arritt, Oc Register, 12 Apr. 2026

Jason Adam came out of the bullpen to get the final out with the bases loaded as the Padres secured a 9-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2026

On the other end, Dodgers starters had thrown at least six innings in each of their last four games to minimize the tax on the bullpen. —Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2026

Waldichuk pointed to his elbow while getting checked by athletic trainers on the mound and then headed to the dugout as Cole Henry came out of the bullpen. —ABC News, 12 Apr. 2026

In the bottom of the sixth inning of that game, former Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson belted a ball to deep right center and Dubón went all out for the catch, crashing into the wall in front of the Braves’ bullpen. —Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 11 Apr. 2026

The next step will be throwing a bullpen this week. —Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 11 Apr. 2026

Their approach is still better than the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are just rolling without a single left-hander in their bullpen. —Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 10 Apr. 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