alert
fully aware and attentive; wide-awake; keen: She had an alert mind.
swift; agile; nimble.
an attitude of vigilance, readiness, or caution, as before an expected attack.
a warning or alarm of an impending military attack, a storm, etc.: We'd just boarded the bus when the alert sounded.
the period during which such a warning or alarm is in effect.
to warn (troops, ships, etc.) to prepare for action.
to warn of an impending raid, attack, storm, etc.: The radio alerted coastal residents to prepare for the hurricane.
to advise or warn; cause to be on guard: to alert gardeners to the dangers of some pesticides.
Idioms about alert
on the alert, on guard against danger; in readiness; vigilant: The state police are on the alert for an escaped convict believed to be in the area.
Origin of alert
1synonym study For alert
Other words for alert
Opposites for alert
Other words from alert
- a·lert·ly, adverb
- a·lert·ness, noun
- hy·per·a·lert, adjective
- un·a·lert·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use alert in a sentence
In August, I wrote about the first of these state-sponsored alerts, Virginia’s Covidwise app.
A covid-fighting tool is buried in your phone. Turn it on. | Geoffrey Fowler | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostResidents who set the region on their iPhone or Android smartphone as Maryland will receive a push notification inviting them to receive exposure notification alerts, officials said.
Maryland governor adds coronavirus restrictions as cases surge across the Washington region | Rebecca Tan, Erin Cox, Patricia Sullivan | November 11, 2020 | Washington PostWe urge people to be alert for—and to avoid spreading—the following types of misinformation, which erode trust in the electoral process and in one another.
Five election misinformation campaigns to avoid resharing | By Starbird, West, & DiResta/The Conversation | November 6, 2020 | Popular-ScienceConcerned about the possibility of unrest on Election Day, or in the days that follow, business owners in some areas of the District are being advised to sign up for crime alerts and to keep their insurance information handy.
D.C. police and businesses prepare for possible Election Day unrest | Peter Hermann, Emily Davies | October 30, 2020 | Washington PostIn February, she said, the agency alerted nursing homes and states about the need to focus on infection prevention.
As pandemic raged and thousands died, government regulators cleared most nursing homes of infection-control violations | Debbie Cenziper, Joel Jacobs, Shawn Mulcahy | October 29, 2020 | Washington Post
The neighbor refused her request and instead alerted the authorities.
She then changed her passwords and ended all contact with the Iranian Bolton and then alerted the office of the real one.
When phone calls alerted her to the start of the carnage she sped to the Maidan instead.
Photographs Expose Russian-Trained Killers in Kiev | Jamie Dettmer | March 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt alerted people to the fact that a lot had become complacent about the possibility of a bear attack.
In Florida, Sprawling Humans Confront the Bears Who Lived There First | Jacqui Goddard | March 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAfter one user spotted footsteps in the snow near the edge of a cliff, Tomnod alerted law enforcement.
Again that sixth sense of impending disaster, which is perhaps bred into some men, alerted Ross.
The Time Traders | Andre NortonThe ore ship had been on a return trip to Chicago when alerted somehow by the Navy to intercept the fugitives.
The Syndic | C.M. KornbluthThere were armed and alerted landing-parties around the grid itself, of course, but the capital city of Dara lay open.
Pariah Planet | Murray LeinsterIf the dog is out in Dr. Jackson's yard, the dog is alerted and barks?
Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President KennedyOutside of the fact that everybody was alerted to this previous incident.
Warren Commission (2 of 26): Hearings Vol. II (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
British Dictionary definitions for alert
/ (əˈlɜːt) /
vigilantly attentive: alert to the problems
brisk, nimble, or lively
an alarm or warning, esp a siren warning of an air raid
the period during which such a warning remains in effect
on the alert
on guard against danger, attack, etc
watchful; ready: on the alert for any errors
to warn or signal (troops, police, etc) to prepare for action
to warn of danger, an attack, etc
Origin of alert
1Derived forms of alert
- alertly, adverb
- alertness, noun
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with alert
see on the alert.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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