danger line
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: - A boundary or limit that, if crossed, leads to a hazardous or risky situation: The term refers to a real or metaphorical line marking the point where safety ends and danger begins.
Usage
- Used to indicate a physical safety limit or a figurative threshold of risk.
- Often appears in contexts involving safety warnings, financial risk, ethical boundaries, or personal limits.
Examples
Physical Boundary:
- The red tape on the factory floor marks the danger line; do not cross it without proper equipment.
- The floodwaters have reached the danger line marked on the riverbank.
Figurative/Abstract Boundary:
- His reckless spending has brought the company's finances to the danger line.
- Pushing your body that hard during training is flirting with the danger line of injury.
Advanced Usage
- "to approach/to near the danger line": To get close to a risky limit.
- The country's debt is approaching the danger line, causing concern among economists.
- "to cross/to go beyond the danger line": To pass into a dangerous state or area.
- By ignoring the safety protocols, he crossed the danger line and put the whole team at risk.
Variants and Related Words
- Danger zone (n): An area or situation of high risk.
- The fire spread quickly, turning the entire block into a danger zone.
- Safety line (n): A line or limit marking a safe area; the opposite concept.
- Always stay behind the safety line while the machinery is operating.
Synonyms
- Threshold of danger: The point at which danger begins.
- Risk boundary: A limit defining an area of risk.
- Hazard limit: A demarcation indicating the start of a hazard.
Related Phrases
- Line in the sand: A figurative boundary that should not be crossed, often set as a warning. (Note: This is a related idiom, not a phrasal verb of "danger line").
- The new policy on data privacy is a line in the sand for the company.
Noun
- a line beyond which it is dangerous to go