grey area
Britishnoun
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(in Britain) a region in which unemployment is relatively high
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an area or part of something existing between two extremes and having mixed characteristics of both
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an area, situation, etc, lacking clearly defined characteristics
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.
Unlike neighbouring China which has banned cryptocurrencies outright, communist Vietnam has allowed blockchain technology to develop in a legal grey area -- barring its use for payments but letting people speculate unimpeded.
From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026
Ethics and etiquette often exist in that grey area, and you will have to decide whether calls and letters from the company and, possibly, a collection notice is worth $180.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 7, 2026
"There's clearly a grey area here, whereby estate agents are able to accept one buyer that will use the in-house broker and turn everybody else away," she told us.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2025
Dad Oli Harrison said he would "never intervene" in another person's parenting methods, but added that a ban would "probably be beneficial" to avoid it being seen as a "grey area".
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2025
In another moment the grey area was golden with gaslight as the basement door was opened suddenly and a small and decorous housemaid stood in it.
From The Club of Queer Trades by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)
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.
