red alert

1. 1.

   the highest level of alert when an attack by the enemy seems imminent (or more generally a state of alert resulting from imminent danger)

   Broaderalert

Questions about red alert

What does red alert mean?

red alert means "the highest level of alert when an attack by the enemy seems imminent (or more generally a state of alert resulting from imminent danger)".

Is red alert a common word?

red alert is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.