redline

1 of 2

noun

red·​line ˈred-ˈlīn 

: a recommended safety limit : the fastest, farthest, or highest point or degree considered safe

also : the red line which marks this point on a gauge

redline

2 of 2

verb

red·​line ˈred-ˌlīn  -ˈlīn 

redlined; redlining; redlines

intransitive verb

: to withhold home-loan funds or insurance from neighborhoods considered poor economic risks

transitive verb

: to discriminate against in housing or insurance

Examples of redline in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Take the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission’s shifts into your own hands with the paddles behind the wheel to keep the howling V8 near the redline, click the manettino drive mode switch into Race, and this GT transforms into a vicious back-road-devouring beast. —Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 17 May 2024

Meanwhile, Jordanians have broken long-standing redlines by marching on the Israeli embassy, and Saudi Arabia has refused to resume normalization talks with Israel, in part because of its people’s deep fury over Israel’s operations in the Gaza Strip. —Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2024

Verb

Neighborhoods that had been redlined in the 1930s -- a post-Great Depression practice involving a pattern of lending discrimination -- are among the hottest in major cities, a 2019 paper that studied 108 urban areas nationwide, found. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 22 May 2024

Multiple studies have analyzed the relationship between public school attendance zones and redlining, finding many of the maps are nearly identical. —Cooper Conway, Orange County Register, 21 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1952, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1968, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense