red alert
Americannoun
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(in military or civilian defense) the most urgent form of alert, signaling that an enemy attack is believed to be imminent.
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the signal or alarm sounded for this alert.
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a signal or warning that a critical situation is developing or has occurred.
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the period during which a state of crisis or danger is declared to exist.
Etymology
Origin of red alert
First recorded in 1960–65
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Meanwhile, Italy's red alert in Rome - as well as in Florence, Bologna, Brescia and Turin - is the first of the year, warning of "possible negative effects on the health of healthy, active people".
From BBC • May 28, 2026
The grim toll, up from 2024, "is not just a statistic, it's a global red alert for our colleagues," IFJ general secretary Anthony Bellanger told AFP.
From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025
The latest scare came after the eastern Valencia region, which suffered Spain's deadliest floods in decades last year, emerged relatively unscathed from another red alert declared on Friday.
From Barron's • Oct. 12, 2025
The highest red alert has been declared in the coastal province by Spain's national weather agency AEMET.
From BBC • Oct. 12, 2025
"The Bionic Unit is on red alert," he says.
From "Freak The Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
