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

The California Highway Patrol sent out an Amber Alert on Sunday for “child abduction/taken,” but canceled it just hours later, saying the children had been found.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 10, 2025

Earthquakes of greater strength — magnitude 5 and above — will send users a wireless emergency alert, similar to an Amber Alert, if they’re in a location expected to get at least “light” shaking intensity.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2024

Authorities issed an Amber Alert just after 4 a.m. for the abduction of 4-year-old Elowyn Duren and 1-year-old Vaelyn Duren from the city of Berlin.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 1, 2024

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

From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2023

I wonder if the Amber Alert has gone off again—Max and I really have sent the city spinning.

From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi