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• red light
  red light

  noun

  a red lamp, used as a traffic signal to mean “stop.”
• red-light
  red-light

  verb (used with object)

  to stop or deter by means of or as if with a red light.

red light

¹ American  

noun

• red lights
  plural

1. a red lamp, used as a traffic signal to mean “stop.”

2. an order or directive to halt an action, project, etc..

   There's a red light on all unnecessary expenses.

3. a children's running game in which players must stop when “Red light!” is called.

4. a signal of danger; warning.

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red-light ² American  

[red-lahyt] / ˈrɛdˈlaɪt /

verb (used with object)

red-lighted, red-lighting

1. Informal. to stop or deter by means of or as if with a red light.

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red light British  

noun

1. a signal to stop, esp a red traffic signal in a system of traffic lights

2. a danger signal

3. an instruction to stop or discontinue

4. 1. a red lamp in a window of or outside a house indicating that it is a brothel

   2. ( as modifier )

      a red-light district

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• red lights
  plural

Etymology

Origin of red light¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Origin of red-light²

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

red light red-light red-lighted

Under the dim red light of the Koreatown bar, the singer exuded an air of comfort, as she’s somewhat of a Thai Angel regular.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

The experiments showed that the device could stimulate nerve cells using both blue and red light.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

“Carrying balances on those accounts is a flashing red light that changes need to be made to your budget. Don’t burn calories worrying about 3.75% vs. 4% when you are paying 20%.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

Sunlight passing through the Earth's atmosphere is scattered, with shorter blue wavelengths scattering more easily, while more of the longer wavelength red light reached the Moon.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Then she tapped the blinking red light of Burton’s phone.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi

The former red-light district downtown has been transformed into a dedicated cultural district containing galleries, theaters, museums and a world-class symphony.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

Singaporean photographer Aik Beng Chia used an image generator to depict the lives of transgender people in the city-state's Bugis street, then known as a red-light district, in the 1970s and 80s.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

They more than made it their own, with more branding than Hampden and further top-range components, including a red-light therapy chamber and an altitude room.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

Soon I was using prescription shampoo, two topical serums, monthly steroid scalp injections, and a pricey red-light therapy cap that made me look like an alien.

From Slate ● May 23, 2026

All through the troublous times of "red-light," however, the officers, non-commissioned officers and the very many respectable soldiers, were always eager and ready to co-operate with the police for the maintenance of law and order.

From Fighting the Traffic in Young Girls or, War on the White Slave Trade by Ernest A. (Ernest Albert) Bell

Inside the Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside, a line of masked people filed into the red-lighted chapel, one by one, to take part in the rite of confession.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

The 60-year-old Anderson won when Chris McGaha red-lighted in the final.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 10, 2021

As he explained to me, people who apply for a job and are red-lighted rarely learn that they were rejected because of their test results.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 1, 2016

An enormous red-lighted Ferris wheel stands out, tawdry and proud of its daily victory over the slow-rising sun.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 7, 2016

Shall I fight him again—with metal digged from the earth, fashioned and sharpened in some red-lighted shop of the earth?

From Foes by Mary Johnston

Related Words

• traffic signal