Dictionary

red line en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌɹɛd ˈlaɪn/
• (Southern-England) audio

Meanings

1. The thick red line on the ice which divides the rink in half.
2. (figuratively) A boundary or limit which should not be crossed.
   • “Now that the red line of overt and direct strikes on Iran’s soil has turned pink, Israel is playing to its own strength and exploiting Iran’s conventional weakness,” [Ali Vaez] adds. 2024 October 28, Scott Peterson, “Israeli strikes inside Iran cross a threshold. How will Iran respond?”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
   • “We’ve made very clear what our red lines are,” Mr. Vance told reporters, “what things we’re willing to accommodate them on.” He added, “They have chosen not to accept our terms.” 2026 April 12, Tyler Pager, David E. Sanger, “What Now? Vance Leaves Iran Talks Without a Deal.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • The administration’s ultimatum now seems like cheap talk, and it illustrates the risks of carelessly drawing red lines and issuing highly public threats that won’t be enforced. 2013 May 4, Daniel Byman, “Mr. Obama, Don’t Draw That Line”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • After a failed attempt by ministers to bounce the union into an agreement by announcing its terms (which included all sorts of union red lines such as drivers having to pay for their own training) in the media rather than over the negotiation table, there is an understandable reluctance on the part of the unions to engage in any discussions unless there are no preconditions. 2023 September 6, Christian Wolmar, “Rail strikes: little prospect of negotiations”, in RAIL, number 991, page 44:
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see red, line.

Forms

Relateds

single yellow line · goal line · blue line · green line · redline

Translations (58)

sq linjë e kuqe (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · sh црвена црта (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · hy կարմիր գիծ (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · et punane joon (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · cmn 紅線 /红线 (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · fa-ira خَطِّ قِرْمِز (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · ka წითელი ხაზი (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · de rote Linie (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · cs červená čára (a line dividing ice rink in half) · nl rode lijn (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · it linea rossa (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · nb rød linje (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · sh crvena linija (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · he קו אדום (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · uk черво́на лі́нія (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · sq vijë e kuqe (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · ar خَطّ أَحْمَر (a line dividing ice rink in half) · pt linha vermelha (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · fi punainen viiva (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · sv röd linje (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · vi lằn ranh đỏ (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · kmr xeta sor (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · tr kırmızı cizgi (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · tg хати сурх (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · kk қызыл сызық (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · ro linie roșie (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · sl rdeča črta (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · sk červená čiara (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · ja 赤線 (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · sh црвена линија (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · hu piros vonal (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · ja レッドライン (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · prs خَطِّ قِرْمِز (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · ru кра́сная черта́ (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · cs červená čára (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · hi लाल रेखा (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · pl czerwona linia (a line dividing ice rink in half) · pl czerwona linia (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · ru кра́сная ли́ния (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · fr ligne rouge (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · lv sarkanā līnija (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · ko 레드라인 (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · uz qizil chiziq (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · he קַו אָדֹם (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · de rote Linie (a line dividing ice rink in half) · ar خَطّ أَحْمَر (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · ca línia vermella (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · mk црвена линија (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · es línea roja (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · bg черве́на ли́ния (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · ky кызыл сызык (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · az qırmızı xətt (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · lt raudona linija (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · sh crvena crta (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · yue 紅線 /红线 (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · be чырво́ная лі́нія (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · da rød linje (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed) · ja 赤い線 (a boundary or limit which should not be crossed)