buffer zone

noun

: a neutral area separating conflicting forces

broadly : an area designed to separate

Examples of buffer zone in a Sentence

There must be a 500-foot buffer zone between the river and the new buildings.

Recent Examples on the Web

During the Cold War, Washington granted the Soviet Union a buffer zone in Eastern Europe while entrenching its own zones of control in Western Europe, Northeast Asia, and the Middle East. — Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2026

Now, one location is prompting city leaders to consider a resolution that would create an encampment buffer zone. — CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

The property’s out-of-state billionaire owner would maintain a buffer zone around his home and ranch buildings. — Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 9 Oct. 2026

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the explosion occurred during an unspecified operation near the military demarcation line in the western section of the border buffer zone, commonly known as the DMZ. — ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for buffer zone

• acetone
• anglophone
• baritone
• bourguignon
• buspirone
• chaperon
• chaperone
• cobblestone
• collarbone
• cornerstone
• cortisone
• dictaphone

Legal Definition

buffer zone

noun

: an area designed to separate: as

a

: an area with certain boundaries beyond which protestors may not pass

b

: an area separating land used for different purposes

a buffer zone between the development and the park