redlining

red·line

 (rĕd′līn′)

v. red·lined, red·lin·ing, red·lines

v.intr.

1. To refuse to provide mortgages, insurance, or other goods or services to areas deemed a poor economic risk, particularly when the residents are nonwhite.

2. To reach the maximum engine speed at which an engine is designed to be safely operated: The car redlined at 80 miles per hour in fourth gear.

3. Computers To mark or highlight edited text, as with a red line, to distinguish it from unedited portions of a document.

v.tr.

1. To practice redlining in (an area or community), as in declining to provide mortgages.

2. To remove from operational status because of mechanical defects or the need for scheduled maintenance: redlined three fighter aircraft.

3. Computers To mark (edited text) by redlining.

n. or red line

1. A safety limit, as marked on a gauge.

2. The furthest limit of what will be tolerated: The use of chemical weapons in the conflict will cross a red line and trigger immediate intervention.

3. Sports

a. The red line at the center of an ice hockey rink, running parallel to the goal lines and dividing the rink in half.

b. Either of two red lines running across an ice hockey rink near the end boards, in the center of which the goal is positioned.

redlining

(ˌrɛdˈlaɪnɪŋ)

n

the practice (by a bank or group of banks) of refusing a loan to a person or country because of the presumed risks involved

red′lin`ing

or red′-lin`ing,

n.

1. a discriminatory practice by which some financial institutions refuse to grant mortgages or insurance in urban areas that they consider to be deteriorating.

2. a marking device, as underlining or boldface, used esp. in word processing to highlight suggested additional text in a document.

[(definition 0) 1965–70, Amer.; as if such areas had been outlined in red on a map]