English Reference
Noun

bullpen

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ˈbʊɫˌpɛn/ bullpen UK spelling bullpens

n.a large, open room where many people work at desks together. It is common in offices, newsrooms, and stock exchanges.

n.a large, open-plan workspace containing multiple desks or stations, typically used by journalists, traders, or sales staff. Originally a holding pen for baseball pitchers.


SIMPLE

The new office has a large, noisy bullpen.

CONTEXTUAL

She prefers the quiet of her private office to the busy bullpen.

COMPLEX

The chaotic energy of the trading floor bullpen reflected the market's volatile mood that morning.

The typewriters, called braillers, give the pressure-cooker environment the old-world feel of a postwar newspaper bullpen, with hands moving in a furious blur from one thing to the next as time ticks away.

The Guardian· 4 Sept 2026

From bull + pen.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated