gray area

Idioms  

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.

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Example Sentences

That was a huge burden on our editors, especially since it was still a gray area.

From Slate • Apr. 1, 2026

But it’s refreshing to see a film operate outside of the gray area, where so many movies of its ilk have gotten lost in recent years.

From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026

By definition, occupying the gray area between a bar and a restaurant, taverns aren’t fancy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

It also showed how love can reside in a gray area — how inherently flawed and beautiful the act of loving is.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026

There was one small gray area of the sky still aglow in the west; the rest was blackness, and flashes of lightning.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara