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• red light
  red light

  noun

  a red lamp, used as a traffic signal to mean “stop.”
• red-light
  red-light

  verb (used with object)

  to stop or deter by means of or as if with a red light.

red light

¹ American  

noun

• red lights
  plural

1. a red lamp, used as a traffic signal to mean “stop.”

2. an order or directive to halt an action, project, etc..

   There's a red light on all unnecessary expenses.

3. a children's running game in which players must stop when “Red light!” is called.

4. a signal of danger; warning.

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red-light ² American  

[red-lahyt] / ˈrɛdˈlaɪt /

verb (used with object)

red-lighted, red-lighting

1. Informal. to stop or deter by means of or as if with a red light.

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red light British  

noun

1. a signal to stop, esp a red traffic signal in a system of traffic lights

2. a danger signal

3. an instruction to stop or discontinue

4. 1. a red lamp in a window of or outside a house indicating that it is a brothel

   2. ( as modifier )

      a red-light district

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• red lights
  plural

Etymology

Origin of red light¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Origin of red-light²

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

red light red-light red-lighted

“Carrying balances on those accounts is a flashing red light that changes need to be made to your budget. Don’t burn calories worrying about 3.75% vs. 4% when you are paying 20%.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

Prosecutors say Bustillos was driving 57 mph in a 40-mph zone on June 11, 2025, when he ran a red light at Carson Street and Palo Verde Avenue and collided with another car.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

"We're getting to a point where it's a flashing yellow light. It's not a flashing red light," he says.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

A coyote is bathed in red light; a cougar stalks near a grand piano; a man stands in a tropical jungle surrounded by mist; a pay phone off the hook dangles by its cord.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

He’d just stopped at a red light, so he turned around to look at them this time.

From "Trouble at the Arcade (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #1)" by Franklin W. Dixon

The former red-light district downtown has been transformed into a dedicated cultural district containing galleries, theaters, museums and a world-class symphony.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

Singaporean photographer Aik Beng Chia used an image generator to depict the lives of transgender people in the city-state's Bugis street, then known as a red-light district, in the 1970s and 80s.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

Soon I was using prescription shampoo, two topical serums, monthly steroid scalp injections, and a pricey red-light therapy cap that made me look like an alien.

From Slate ● May 23, 2026

Instead of sofas, it features a red-light bed, oxygen tanks, hot and cold plunges, and an exercise bike.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

We raised Sicklen on a commercial wire and told him to turn his red-light and hold everything.

From Danger Signals Remarkable, Exciting and Unique Examples of the Bravery, Daring and Stoicism in the Midst of Danger of Train Dispatchers and Railroad Engineers by John A. Hill

The piece opens on an empty, red-lighted raised stage, a lone couch at center and a Rothko-effect red-orange screen behind.

From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2022

Hagan advanced on a controversial call versus defending Countdown to the Championship winner Ron Capps, who red-lighted at the start.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2017

Now imagine that Kyle Behm, after getting red-lighted at Kroger, goes on to land a job at McDonald’s.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 1, 2016

An enormous red-lighted Ferris wheel stands out, tawdry and proud of its daily victory over the slow-rising sun.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 7, 2016

He looked again at the battle-stations board; it was still uniformly red-lighted.

From Space Viking by H. Beam Piper

Related Words

• traffic signal