neutral zone

noun

plural neutral zones

1

American football : a space between the two lines of scrimmage equivalent to the length of the ball that may not be encroached upon by either team until the ball is put in play

2

ice hockey : the portion of a rink (see rink sense 1a) between the attacking and defensive zones

3

: a zone or area of shared ownership or administration

In fact, the Saudis and Kuwaitis aid the Iraqis … by selling Iraqi oil from the neutral zone, a favor that pumps more than $3 million a day into Iraqi coffers.

—Newsweek

Examples of neutral zone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The team also ditched its plodding 1-3-1 neutral zone trap in favor of more offensive-minded 1-2-2, a formation Kopitar said has made the team dynamic. —Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024

But outside the 100-foot neutral zone, or further if the voting line extends beyond that, people can distribute food, water and campaigning material. —Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 24 Oct. 2024

Mutual pullbacks create neutral zones between Chinese and Indian forces that become tempting targets for future territory grabs. —Dan Altman, Foreign Affairs, 24 Sep. 2021

Joel Eriksson Ek forced a neutral zone turnover and passed to Kaprizov at the blue line. —John Shipley, Twin Cities, 16 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 3