gray area

1. Indeterminate territory, undefined position, neither here nor there. For example, There's a large gray area between what is legal and what is not. This term, which uses gray in the sense of “neither black nor white” (or halfway between the two), dates only from the mid-1900s.

Example Sentences

“Any Republican who tries to sit on the fence on this one, they’re going to lose because there’s no gray area here. You either support the exceptions or you don’t.”

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What was fab about the replays was how clear it was: Cooper Jr. really tucked that right foot and touched the left one down, in end zone grass, no gray area, no question.

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The technology exists in a legally gray area, but existing copyright and trademark laws could rein in those making and sharing videos that use celebrities’ likeness, brands or other protected works, intellectual-property lawyers say.

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The incident highlights a gray area in law enforcement’s ability to cite robot cars when they violate traffic laws.

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The fact that so many business practices fall into a legal gray area in America is no accident, and arguably a good thing up to a point.

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