yellow tape
Do not cross
Yellow tape is the bright plastic barrier tape used to mark off restricted areas.
Police and emergency services stretch it around crime scenes, accident sites, and hazardous zones to keep people out: The whole block was cordoned off with yellow tape.
The phrase evokes serious incidents—murders, disasters, active investigations.
Yellow tape often stands in for the scene itself: There was yellow tape everywhere.
- cautionCareful attention to risk
- crimePunishable illegal act
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
- barrierObstruction preventing passage
- policeCivil law enforcement
investigation · hazard · warning · boundary · cordon · crime scene · evidence · first responders · detective · murder · restricted · restricted area · blocked · forensic · danger · perimeter · police line · construction
- safety alertswarning sign, caution sign, danger sign, hazard sign, warning light
- Crime Scenecrime scene, evidence marker, evidence bag, evidence bags, chalk outline
- masking tapes
- policeofficer, cop, officers, patrol, cops
- plumbingpipes, valves, fittings, faucets, drains
yellow tapeopen access
Free public scholarly content
all clear · green light · open door · safe zone · open invitation
yellow, tape, yellows, yellowed, yellowing, yellowish, yellowness, tapes, taped