redline

Thân thiện

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To refuse a loan, insurance, or other service, or to charge more for it, based on the geographic location of the property or applicant, especially in a racially discriminatory manner. This is the specific, historical meaning related to housing discrimination.
   • To operate an engine or machine at its maximum safe limit. This is a separate, more general meaning, often seen in mechanical contexts.

Usage Examples

• Verb (Housing Discrimination):
  • Banks were found to redline entire neighborhoods, denying mortgages to qualified residents.
  • The practice of redlining was outlawed by the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
• Verb (Mechanical Limit):
  • Be careful not to redline the engine, or you could cause serious damage.
  • The tachometer shows when you are about to redline the motor.

Advanced Usage

• "Redlining" (Gerund/Noun): The systematic practice of discrimination described in the primary definition.
  • The legacy of redlining continues to affect urban development and wealth inequality today.
• Figurative Use: Sometimes used metaphorically to describe setting a strict limit or boundary.
  • The manager redlined the budget, refusing to approve any further expenses.

Variants and Related Words

• Redlined (Adjective/Verb Past Tense): Describes an area that was subjected to redlining, or an engine that was operated at its limit.
  • The redlined district suffered from decades of disinvestment.
  • He redlined the car during the race.
• Redline (Noun): The maximum safe operating limit, often marked by a red line on a gauge.
  • Keep the needle below the redline.

Synonyms

• Discriminate (in the housing context): To make an unjust distinction in treatment.
• Rev or Over-rev (in the mechanical context): To increase engine speed, especially to a very high level.

Related Phrases

• To be in the redline: To be operating at the maximum limit.
  • The engine was in the redline for several seconds.

Notes on Meaning

The two primary meanings of "redline" are distinct. The first is a socio-economic term with significant historical and legal weight, referring to a discriminatory practice where lenders would literally draw red lines on maps around neighborhoods deemed "hazardous" for investment, often predominantly minority areas. The second is a technical term from engineering and mechanics. The context of the sentence will always clarify which meaning is intended.

Học thuật

Verb

1. discriminate in selling or renting housing in certain areas of a neighborhood