red tag
noun
a tag or other marker colored red and used to categorize something for a special purpose.
red tag
1 Americannoun
red-tag
2
American
[red-tag]
/ ˈrɛdˈtæg /
verb (used with object)
red-tagged,
red-tagging
-
to attach a red tag to, as merchandise for special sale.
-
to identify for a specific purpose; earmark.
The inspector red-tagged the restaurant for health violations.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of red-tag
First recorded in 1885–90
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:
On Dec. 23, 2024, three days before the fire, the city placed red tag notices around the building, warning about a building or wall that could fall down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2025
She described airlines as the "first line of defence" and pointed out that laws require them to isolate, put a red tag on and lock up in a secure vault any potentially "bogus parts".
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2023
“We’re going to red tag it all,” he added.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 26, 2023
The company flags these discounts by placing a red tag icon under qualifying merchandise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2016
Grayling will take most small trout-flies, but there are many patterns of fly tied specially for them, most of them founded on the red tag or the green insect.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Part 1, Slice 1 by Various
Police would come every once in a while and red-tag the RVs that gathered there, Heller said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2023
The red-tag sale sign suggested it was a bargain.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 16, 2016
Armed Forces radio broadcasts glum little ads urging G.I.s to use egg timers when they call long distance and to watch for red-tag sales at the PX.
From Time Magazine Archive
But it's a bad omen for GM that the company must rely on red-tag sales and other gimmicks to move the metal, despite great strides in vehicle quality.
From Time Magazine Archive
Investigators served a search warrant, resulting in 17 arrests and the business being red-tagged, according to the release.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026
City officials later came and red-tagged the area, declaring it too dangerous for anyone to enter, Elliott said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2025
A couple of months ago, houses in Rancho Palos Verdes were red-tagged.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2024
In September, two new homes were red-tagged in the Seaview neighborhood — a community just southeast of Portuguese Bend — amid growing land movement, prompting city leaders to declare a local emergency.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2024
On a narrow-fronted ground floor was the crowded little laundry with its red-lettered sign, its uncurtained windows, its shelves of red-tagged parcels, and its ever-present odor of borax.
From Stories from Everybody's Magazine by Various
Second, red-tagging kratom products would directly affect his Authentic Kratom and the livelihood of his seven full-time employees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2025
Inspectors will be sent to retailers next week to begin red-tagging illegal products containing the compounds, the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025
Gregory and her team set about taking measurements of the cars and their trajectories and red-tagging any evidence, which would be transported to N.T.S.B. or Amtrak facilities for cataloging and three-dimensional scanning.
From New York Times ● Jan. 26, 2016
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.
