the red zone
noun
American football
: the area of the field that is inside an opponent's 20-yard line
Examples of the red zone in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Of his 117 rushing yards this game, a season-long burst of 24 yards came on third-and-1 into the red zone.
—
Cam Inman, Mercury News, 23 Dec. 2025
Maye got the Patriots near the red zone again before the offense sputtered.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 22 Dec. 2025
With only one timeout, the Lions drove the ball all the way to the red zone.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 22 Dec. 2025
Tulane got into the red zone just twice all afternoon and finished with only 10 points — tied with the first game at Ole Miss for its fewest of the season — despite moving the ball downfield methodically and effectively at times.
—The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for the red zone
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.
Cam Inman, Mercury News, 23 Dec. 2025
Maye got the Patriots near the red zone again before the offense sputtered.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 22 Dec. 2025
With only one timeout, the Lions drove the ball all the way to the red zone.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 22 Dec. 2025
Tulane got into the red zone just twice all afternoon and finished with only 10 points — tied with the first game at Ole Miss for its fewest of the season — despite moving the ball downfield methodically and effectively at times.
—The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for the red zone
Cite this Entry
“The red zone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20red%20zone. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share