Amber Alert

American

[am-ber uh-lert] / ˈæm bər əˌlɛrt /

Or AMBER Alert

noun

1. a public alert system that uses broadcast media, text messages, and electronic billboards to spread information about missing persons, especially children.
2. a public message or announcement that uses this system.

Amber alert British

noun

a notification to the general public, such as by commercial radio or electronic traffic-condition signs, regarding an abduction of a child

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Amber Alert

Backronym from America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response; named after Amber Hagerman, a girl kidnapped and murdered in Texas in 1996

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It is given as a nasal spray and leaves white blood cells in our lungs – called macrophages – on "amber alert" and ready to jump into action no matter what infection tries to get in.

From BBC

It is not known whether the same effect can be achieved in people or how long the immune system would stay in amber alert.

From BBC

The camera panned back to the reporter, who talked about the police investigation and Amber Alert.

From Literature

Roads are closed and several rail services have been disrupted in the south-west of England, an area covered by several warnings including an amber alert for rain.

From BBC

Shetland was hit by the amber alert at midnight while it has been in force in parts of the north east, Highland, Perth and Kinross and Angus since midday on Friday.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023