variants
or less commonly red light
: relating to or being an area with many brothels or sex workers
Just inside the entrance to "Picasso Érotique," the exhibition's designer has recreated an imagined bordello bedroom as one might have existed in the red-light district of Barcelona in the era of Picasso's youth.—
Arthur C. Danto
Arthur C. DantoIn the beginning, entertainment ran more along the lines of saloons, card games and red light activities.—Jennifer Houghton
Jennifer Houghton
: a warning signal
especially
: a red traffic signal
Examples of red-light in a Sentence
Noun
the reporter took her glower as a red light and stopped asking questions
Recent Examples on the Web
Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 June 2025
Jones’ retrial will come more than six years after FBI agents confronted Jones at his Roseland neighborhood home as part of a sweeping investigation into bribery schemes involving red-light cameras, liquor licenses and other graft across the west and southwest suburbs.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2025
Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 June 2025
Detectives also found Lumpkin had run a red light just before the fatal crash four blocks away and nearly struck two cars.
—Isabel Rivera, Miami Herald, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for red-light
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
Some people have suggested that red-light cameras would be helpful, but Linke said that a key way to reduce the number of distracted drivers is furthering education.
—Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 June 2025
Jones’ retrial will come more than six years after FBI agents confronted Jones at his Roseland neighborhood home as part of a sweeping investigation into bribery schemes involving red-light cameras, liquor licenses and other graft across the west and southwest suburbs.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2025
Noun
However, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light in central Prague while trying to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese delegation.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 June 2025
Detectives also found Lumpkin had run a red light just before the fatal crash four blocks away and nearly struck two cars.
—Isabel Rivera, Miami Herald, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for red-light
Cite this Entry
“Red-light.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red-light. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share