redline

1 of 2

noun

red·​line ˈred-ˈlīn 

: 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

redline

2 of 2

verb

red·​line ˈred-ˌlīn  -ˈlīn 

redlined; redlining; redlines

intransitive verb

: to withhold home-loan funds or insurance from neighborhoods considered poor economic risks

transitive verb

: to discriminate against in housing or insurance

Examples of redline in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The book was completed months before Anthropic’s redlines generated new interest in autonomous-drone swarms and killer robots, but even then the writing was on the wall. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2026

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

Verb

This wealth disparity stems from Connecticut’s long history of redlining. —Letters To The Editor, Hartford Courant, 2 Apr. 2026

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

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1952, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1968, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for redline

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• byline
• canine