Amber Alert

American  

[am-ber uh-lert] / ˈæm bər əˌlɛrt /

Or AMBER Alert

noun

1. 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.

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Amber alert British  

noun

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

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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

An Amber Alert was issued Aug. 19 asking the public for help tracking the family down.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 31, 2024

Maye then abruptly left the home, authorities said, and an Amber Alert for her and the child was issued two hours later.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 16, 2024

New data show that the CHP approved all six Amber Alert requests it received in the same year it denied three of the Feather Alert requests.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2024

The police in Milwaukee asked state officials to issue an Amber Alert.

From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2023

The Amber Alert has nothing to do with the marathon runners.

From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi