red light
1 Americannoun
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a red lamp, used as a traffic signal to mean “stop.”
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an order or directive to halt an action, project, etc..
There's a red light on all unnecessary expenses.
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a children's running game in which players must stop when “Red light!” is called.
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a signal of danger; warning.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a signal to stop, esp a red traffic signal in a system of traffic lights
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a danger signal
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an instruction to stop or discontinue
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a red lamp in a window of or outside a house indicating that it is a brothel
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( as modifier )
a red-light district
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Etymology
Origin of red light1
First recorded in 1840–50
Origin of red-light2
First recorded in 1895–1900
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If you're using a phone app to locate planets, enable the red light feature, because "the red light won't affect your night vision as much as a bright white light would."
From BBC
The video, shared by the Chino Police Department, shows two vehicles stopping at a red light in front of and behind a big rig on Friday.
From Los Angeles Times
She was stopped at a red light with the top down.
From Los Angeles Times
She was putting the groceries onto the counter so that the woman in the pink smock could drive them over the beeping thing with the green and red light.
From Literature
A red light touched the points of standing rocks.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
