all-points bulletin

noun

: a general bulletin broadcast to alert law-enforcement officers over a wide area that someone (such as a suspect) or something (such as a vehicle) is being actively sought in connection with a crime

The all-points bulletin for the suspects issued Thursday describes them as "armed and dangerous" …—

Les Ledbetter

… police investigators have pored over video footage, interviewed witnesses, combed through social media chatter and shared surveillance images of the suspects with other police agencies in an all-points bulletin.—

Michael Cabanatuan and Kurtis Alexander

called also APB

Examples of all-points bulletin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

An all-points bulletin was relayed to all area police departments, Windsor Locks police said. —

Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2024 Set off an all-points bulletin, given the seriousness of these matters. —

Ron Lieber, New York Times, 30 Dec. 2023 Through the department’s license-plate readers and other footage captured by neighbors’ cameras, officers were able to identify the man — Garrett Blaize — and issued an all-points bulletin for his vehicle, Martinez said. —

Michelle L. Quinn, Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of all-points bulletin was in 1936

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Dictionary Entries Near all-points bulletin

all-points

all-points bulletin

all points/every point of the compass

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Cite this Entry

Style

“All-points bulletin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/all-points%20bulletin. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

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