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.
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a danger signal.
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something that provokes an angry or hostile reaction.
The talk about raising taxes was a red flag to many voters.
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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.
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(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.
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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.
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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:
“How long are these kids talking to chatbots before there’s a red flag that’s thrown up?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
A big red flag for companies: A high credit-utilization score suggests to lenders that you may be a higher risk.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 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
As she spoke, she swung her lasso round and round, eyeing the flagpole that jutted out from the tower wall high above them, the Institute’s red flag rippling gently beneath it.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
“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
The elementary school relocates out of town during red-flag days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025
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
In Florida, 38 counties are under burn bans and most inland regions in the state are under Red Flag warnings from the weather service.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
Although the winds are trending weaker, esp. for vlys & coasts, Red Flag Warnings have been extended through Thur 8PM.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2025
Andrew: Mercedes took a strategy risk and rolled the dice after the early Red Flag, but it doesn’t look like it was the correct call.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2024
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
Are your "Standards" quite up to the mark, if they lead to the Black or Red Flag?
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, March 4th 1914 by Various
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
After she was red-flagged, there was confusion as she received communication between Craigavon Area Hospital and then was referred to the Ulster Hospital, in a different health trust.
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
BBC Sport can reveal the All England Club's security system highlighted the man's name had been red-flagged, and blocked his attempt to enter the public ballot.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 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.
