silver alert

noun

A public notification of a missing person, especially a senior with dementia.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounsilver alert (plural silver alerts)

plural silver alerts

  1. CanadaUSA public notification of a missing person, especially a senior with dementia.

Origin

Introduced in 2005 by Oklahoma state representative Fred Perry, modelled on amber alert. Silver suggests the grey hair of elderly people; compare silver fox.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

silver alert. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silver%20alert

MLA

“silver alert.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silver%20alert. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “silver alert,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silver%20alert.

Source: silver alert on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.