: a widely publicized bulletin that alerts the public to a recently abducted or missing child
Word History
Etymology
from the U.S. Justice Department AMBER Alert Program that issues such bulletins, originally from Amber Hagerman †1996 U.S. victim of an abduction, later read as an acronym for America's Missing Broadcast Emergency Response
First Known Use
1997, in the meaning defined above
Legal Definition
Amber Alert
noun
: a widely publicized bulletin that alerts the public to a recently abducted or missing child
History and Etymology for Amber Alert
from the U.S. Justice Dept. AMBER Alert Program that issues such bulletins, originally from Amber Hagerman †1996 victim of an abduction, later read as America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response