black zone
1
7.9
- noun
- /blæk zoʊn/
:
zona peligrosa
- In urban areas, black zones arose on vacant fringes and later expanded into white sections.
Examples
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You are in a black zone.
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The police advised residents to avoid the black zone due to frequent criminal activity.
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Tourists should be cautious and steer clear of the black zone known for its gang-related violence.
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The report highlighted several black zones in the city where safety was a significant concern.
Synonyms
13
3.8
An area or situation where people are likely to be hurt
1
7.5
A place people are afraid to enter or are not allowed to enter because it is dangerous
How Dangerous
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'black' (with its negative/forbidding connotations) and 'zone' (an area) can plausibly infer that a 'black zone' is an area regarded as dangerous or unsafe, so the parts give a clue to the meaning. However, 'black zone' is not a highly conventionalized English collocation and could also be taken literally (a dark area) or be unfamiliar compared with more common labels like 'danger zone' or 'red zone'. Because the meaning is partly inferable but not fully predictable without exposure, it is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
The expression black zone comes from maps and warning signs that used dark color to show the most dangerous places: the darkest areas were marked black, and a zone is simply an area. That's why today black zone means 'an area that is unsafe or high risk'.