neutral zone

noun

plural neutral zones

1

American football : a space between the two lines of scrimmage equivalent to the length of the ball that may not be encroached upon by either team until the ball is put in play

2

ice hockey : the portion of a rink (see rink sense 1a) between the attacking and defensive zones

3

: a zone or area of shared ownership or administration

In fact, the Saudis and Kuwaitis aid the Iraqis … by selling Iraqi oil from the neutral zone, a favor that pumps more than $3 million a day into Iraqi coffers.

—Newsweek

Examples of neutral zone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His second one was a beautiful redirection on the power play – most goalies would have had no chance – while Fowler’s 3-0 goal was the product of a neutral zone breakdown and a partial breakaway. —Jeremy Rutherford, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2025

Edmonton gets Nurse help, Panthers three-goal lead gone The Panthers spent most of the second period pinned into react mode, allowing Edmonton neutral zone space to rev up their assaults on the Panthers zone. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 13 June 2025

His backhand clearing attempt was knocked down easily on the way to Buchnevich’s first goal, while a poor neutral zone sort out contributed to Fowler’s 3-0 goal later in the frame. —Jeremy Rutherford, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2025

Heading into the 2023-24 season, Woodcraft changed Edmonton’s neutral zone defensive formation to a 1-1-3 structure. —Harman Dayal, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for neutral zone

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