: 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
redlined; redlining; redlines
: to withhold home-loan funds or insurance from neighborhoods considered poor economic risks
: to discriminate against in housing or insurance
Examples of redline in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 19 Mar. 2026
After OpenAI published some of the terms of the contract on Saturday, many outside observers immediately questioned how the redlines on autonomous weapons and mass surveillance would actually be upheld, with some saying the language would still allow the safeguards to be disregarded.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 4 Mar. 2026
Tonika Lewis Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
By now, the standard sound of rage rap — redlining drums deployed with abandon, frenetic, almost spastic chord arrangements, and often shouted, mantra-like lyrics delivered in an impassioned scream — has become a predictable shorthand for overtures to a younger audience.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for redline
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Noun
Some say hitting the 9000-rpm redline while driving through a canyon is as close as a Porschephile can come to heaven.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 19 Mar. 2026
After OpenAI published some of the terms of the contract on Saturday, many outside observers immediately questioned how the redlines on autonomous weapons and mass surveillance would actually be upheld, with some saying the language would still allow the safeguards to be disregarded.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 4 Mar. 2026
Verb
For decades, discriminatory housing policies — including redlining, racially restrictive covenants and predatory land-sale contracts — systematically extracted the very wealth from Black families that fuels neighborhood investment.
—Tonika Lewis Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
By now, the standard sound of rage rap — redlining drums deployed with abandon, frenetic, almost spastic chord arrangements, and often shouted, mantra-like lyrics delivered in an impassioned scream — has become a predictable shorthand for overtures to a younger audience.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for redline
Cite this Entry
“Redline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/redline. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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