bullpen
bullpen Lexical Profile
bullpen Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American An area off the field in a baseball stadium where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game, or the collective roster of a team's relief pitchers.
"The manager called down to the bullpen to have two left-handed pitchers start warming up in the seventh inning."
North American A large, open-plan office space where desk-bound employees work together without private offices.
"Junior analysts and interns sat in the noisy central bullpen while senior partners had private offices along the windows."
North American A large holding cell in a jail, police station, or courthouse where prisoners are temporarily detained together before a hearing or transfer.
"The defendants waited in the courthouse bullpen until the bailiff called their names for arraignment."
A fenced enclosure or pen used for keeping bulls on a farm or ranch.
"The rancher repaired the heavy timber gates around the bullpen before moving the livestock."
Word Origin & Etymology
Originally referring literally to a fenced enclosure for bulls, the term was adopted into baseball jargon in the late 19th century; one popular theory links it to prominent Bull Durham tobacco billboards that frequently overlooked the pitchers' warm-up areas in early ballparks.