red light
64
1.0
- noun
- /rɛd laɪt/
:
semáforo en rojo
- His father gave him a long glance as they pulled up to a red light.
- stop at a red light
- run a red light
Two classes of people will cross against the red light with consistency.
- Two classes of people will cross against the red light with consistency.
- We come to a red light and I stop and I look at her.
- Another example I give in my book are traffic cameras and red light cameras.
- I may be my fault, but who ran the red light, man?
- And he was going through a green light and a man ran a red light and boom and took his life.
- But they now have the ability to stop at red lights.
- And if a few people start to jaywalk and cross on a red light, they will also, they will follow.
- There's no one no one pees in a car quite like me at a red light.
Examples
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When she had to stop for a red light and traffic, she was petrified.
Fiction book (2001) -
He wasn't paying attention, ran a red light, smashed into Margolese's Cadillac.
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So some lady decided to run a red light and hit my car.
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I think you ran a red light.
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Wait for this red light, then go.
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You just ran through a red light.
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A block away, traffic was stopped at the red light, but she saw no pedestrians coming in either direction.
Fiction book (1999) -
I took a left turn and a giant truck, ran a red light and T boned us.
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A drunk ran a red light and slammed into us.
Fiction book (2002) -
My son was sitting at a red light waiting for it to turn green.
Antonyms
How Permissive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a warning or signal to stop/proceed with caution' is directly derivable from combining 'red' (a color conventionally associated with danger/stop) and 'light' (a signal or lamp). This color‑signal composition is cross‑linguistically common and follows familiar traffic and warning conventions, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will generally understand both the literal and common figurative uses.
Etymology
Red light is the red traffic signal at a road crossing; the bright red on a light tells drivers and people to stop, so it means 'must stop'.