redline
See also: red line
English
Etymology
red + line, originating with the frequent use of red pen or pencil to mark corrections on drawings and documents (1), and the red markings on a tachometer (2).
Pronunciation
Noun
redline (plural redlines)
- A drawing, document, etc. that has been marked for correction or modification.
- The maximum speed, temperature, pressure, etc., at which a device (such as the engine in a car, aircraft, etc.) is designed to operate.
Verb
redline (third-person singular simple present redlines, present participle redlining, simple past and past participle redlined)
- To mark a drawing or document for correction or modification.
- To operate a device at one or more redlines.
- (automotive) To run an internal combustion engine to its maximum or maximum recommended speed.
- (Canada, US, urban studies) To deny or complicate access to services (such as banking, insurance, or healthcare) to residents in specific, often racially determined, areas.
- Antonym: greenline
- 1995 September, Richard Barbrook, Andy Cameron, “The Californian Ideology”, in Mute[1], volume 1, number 3, →ISSN:
- Already ‘redlined’ by profit-hungry telcos, the inhabitants of poor inner city areas can be shut out of the new on-line services through lack of money.
- (audio engineering) To achieve audio levels that will cause clipping (indicated by red in an audio meter).
