RED CARPET Definition & Meaning

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red carpet

noun

a red strip of carpet placed on the ground for high-ranking dignitaries to walk on when entering or leaving a building, vehicle, or the like.
1. an area abutting the entrance to a building, usually carpeted in red, where celebrities gather and walk before participating in or taking their seats at a big event:
  The winning actress had of course been interviewed on the red carpet before the Academy Awards.
2. the activity that goes on in this area:
  Six reporters will be covering the red carpet at the charity's annual gala.
a display of courtesy or deference, as that shown to persons of high station:
The visiting prince was treated to the red carpet in Rome.

red carpet

noun

a strip of red carpeting laid for important dignitaries to walk on when arriving or departing
1. deferential treatment accorded to a person of importance
2. ( as modifier )
  the returning hero had a red-carpet reception

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

��-��p�� adjective

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of red carpet¹

First recorded in 1930–35

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Idioms and Phrases

Honorary treatment, lavish hospitality, as in We'll have to get out the red carpet for the President's visit . This term comes from the literal practice of rolling out a carpet to welcome a royal or other esteemed guest, and indeed is often put as roll out the red carpet . [Early 1900s]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"I was really very excited to be in the Republican palace," one soldier told me as we walked down the grimy red carpet.

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The glitz and glamour of the red carpet will always be a draw.

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Macron had not just rolled out the red carpet for him.

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Hackman's children, though rarely in the public eye, occasionally attended red carpet events with him.

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News journalists have not been invited to attend the red carpet and therefore have not had the opportunity to interview the film's cast and creatives.

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Related 51�Թ�s

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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