Meaning & use
bullpen
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
In baseball, the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering the game.
Grammar: Countable noun; often used with 'the' when referring to a specific team's bullpen.
Patterns
- in the bullpen
- the bullpen
- warm up in the bullpen
The closer was warming up in the bullpen.
He spent most of the season in the bullpen.
nouncountableinformal
An open office area where many desks are placed together without dividing walls.
Grammar: Countable noun; often used in business contexts.
Patterns
- work in a bullpen
- a bullpen office
- the bullpen
The interns work in a bullpen on the third floor.
We moved from private offices to a bullpen layout.
nouncountableinformal
A temporary holding area for prisoners.
Grammar: Countable noun; usually singular in this sense.
Patterns
- in the bullpen
- the bullpen
The suspects waited in the bullpen until morning.
He was kept in the bullpen before his hearing.
Word forms
| plural | bullpens |
|---|
Common combinations
- bullpen session
- The pitcher threw a bullpen session before the game.
- bullpen car
- The bullpen car brought the reliever to the mound.
- open-plan bullpen
- The new office is an open-plan bullpen.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pen
- A general word for an enclosure; bullpen is more specific to baseball, offices, or jails.
Commonly confused: bullpen or bull ring?
bullpen vs bull ring
A bull ring is an arena for bullfighting; a bullpen is a sports or office area.
Practice
Where would you expect to find a relief pitcher?
Choose one answer.
Relief pitchers warm up in the bullpen; the dugout is where players sit during the game.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bullpen”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.