red zone

noun

: the area of a football field inside an opponent's 20-yard line

Examples of red zone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Out of 27 red zone trips, the Razorbacks’ defense has allowed 23 touchdowns and a field goal. — Pj Green october 27, Kansas City Star, 27 Oct. 2026 Special teams had their fair share of issues, too, with David Moore muffing a punt in the fourth quarter inside Tampa Bay’s red zone. — Charlotte Observer, 25 Oct. 2026 Linebacker Payton Wilson had a red zone interception of Tyler Shough in the third quarter and the Saints (2-5) couldn’t recover. — ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026 The Tide moved the ball into the MSU red zone seven times, scoring touchdowns on all seven tries. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for red zone

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of red zone was in 1972

Rhymes for red zone

See All Rhymes for red zone

Browse Nearby Words

red zinc ore
red zone
ree
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Red zone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red%20zone. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shindig

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All