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• Amber Alert
  Amber Alert

  noun
• Amber alert
  Amber alert

  noun

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

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 pair were last seen Sunday around 4 a.m. near Ferndale Street and Alsace Avenue, according to an Amber Alert issued Monday.

From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026

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.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2025

An Amber Alert was issued for the trio.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 24, 2025

Authorities said that the resources investigators currently have in place — like sophisticated DNA testing and the Amber Alert system — may make it less difficult to solve the case than it was in 1999.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 23, 2024

“On one of our stops, I saw this news report. There was an Amber Alert, and they said G’ma was also being investigated for a string of jewelry thefts.”

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone