Amber Alert

Or AM·BER A·lert

[am-ber uh-lert]

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.

Amber alert

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Amber alert¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Amber alert¹

C20: named after Amber Hagerman , a child who was abducted and murdered in 1996 in Arlington, Texas

Example Sentences

The claim prompted authorities to issue a statewide Amber Alert and sparked furor against Latinos on social media.

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The father and grandparents of a baby who was taken from the arms of his mother after an attack outside a store over the weekend — prompting an Amber Alert in Southern California — could face multiple felony charges, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

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Fearing for the child’s safety, investigators requested that the California Highway Patrol issue an Amber Alert to enlist the public’s help in locating the child.

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An Amber Alert was issued Sunday afternoon after Enzo Antonescu was allegedly kidnapped at a Target store on Colima Road, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

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Authorities also canceled the Amber Alert.

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