red flag
noun
the symbol or banner of a left-wing revolutionary party.
red flag
1 Americannoun
-
the symbol or banner of a left-wing revolutionary party.
-
a danger signal.
-
something that provokes an angry or hostile reaction.
The talk about raising taxes was a red flag to many voters.
-
Also called powder flag. Nautical. a red burgee, designating in the International Code of Signals the letter “B,” flown by itself to show that a vessel is carrying, loading, or discharging explosives or highly inflammable material.
-
(initial capital letters) a war game the U.S. Air Force holds several times each year at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, to train personnel in air combat.
red-flag
2
American
[red-flag]
/ ˈrɛdˈflæg /
verb (used with object)
red-flagged,
red-flagging
-
to mark or draw attention to for a particular purpose.
The department has red-flagged the most urgent repair work to be done.
-
to provoke the attention of; alert; arouse.
The animal's refusal to eat red-flagged the keeper that something was wrong.
adjective
-
of or relating to a red flag.
-
intended or serving to emphasize, warn, incite, or provoke.
red flag
1
British
noun
-
a symbol of socialism, communism, or revolution
-
a warning of danger or a signal to stop
Red Flag
2
British
noun
Etymology
Origin of red flag1
First recorded in 1770–80
Origin of red-flag2
First recorded in 1880–85
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.
See Examples For:
That, says Quinn-Cirillo, is a "huge red flag".
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
She sat on the windowsill, occasionally going over to peek out through the front door, but the big red flag she had planted advertising the showing wasn’t drawing much attention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
And complicating matters, was it possible my cat could be seen as, if not an outright red flag, a deterrent?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Strong, erratic winds have made the going tough for fire crews, and red flag fire conditions are expected Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
“Uh. You said you were my cousin. It might’ve raised a red flag or, like, five thousand.”
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
“We have a red-flag system here, where if there’s anything that gets really out of whack, they can immediately tag the milk, and it doesn’t go to anything but cheese,” McAfee told me.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
You are in big red-flag territory for this one.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
Yamaji wasn’t involved in the deliberations on issuing the alert, but said he believed that the decision to red-flag the stock was appropriate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
A red-flag fire danger warning remains in effect for the area until 6 p.m.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2024
She denounced it as a “hodgepodge of plagiarism pulled from here, a bit from there, the whole misinterpreted and sensationalized to give color to the red-flag word SPIES.”
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
“Valiant Shield and Red Flag proved the MQ-9’s ability for life beyond counterterrorism,” said Cantwell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
He then got into his Chinese Hongqi, or "Red Flag," limousine and departed the airport into San Francisco, where demonstrations are expected both for and against his visit.
From Reuters ● Nov. 15, 2023
Red Flag Warnings remain in effect for much of LA/Ventura counties through 10 pm Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2023
But the routine of singing the party's anthem, the Red Flag, to close their conference continues.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2023
One crowd would sing, "Keep the Red Flag Flying," and the other, "The Wearing of the Green."
From A Miscellany of Men by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton
For instance, a corporate group of high-handicap golfers who haven’t played the course before can be red-flagged in advance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
The patients are among 32 women in the Notting Hill Medical Practice, based in the Northern Trust, who were red-flagged within a five-month period this year.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2025
Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell completed the podium in a sprint that was red-flagged after Piastri and Alpine's Franco Colapinto' exited the 100km dash.
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2025
As first reported by the BBC, the All England Club's security measures spotted the man had been red-flagged, and blocked his attempt to enter the public ballot.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2025
“Again I swung my red-flagged brassey in front of the angry creature’s face, and what I had hoped for followed.”
From Mr. Munchausen Being a True Account of Some of the Recent Adventures beyond the Styx of the Late Hieronymus Carl Friedrich, Sometime Baron Munchausen of Bodenwerder by John Kendrick Bangs
“Passing judgments, applying labels, and red-flagging educational materials that might prompt uncomfortable but insightful discussions are activities that do not belong in our public schools.”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 10, 2019
From next season players will be tested every day for six minutes before training, with computers immediately red-flagging anyone at risk.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 7, 2013
But we make the caddie do the ordinary work of carrying, and teeing up, and red-flagging also, and he contrives in effect to be in two places at the same time.
From The Happy Golfer Being Some Experiences, Reflections, and a Few Deductions of a Wandering Golfer by Henry Leach
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.
