Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An international organization that cares for the wounded, sick, and homeless in wartime, according to the terms of the Geneva Convention of 1864, and now also during and following natural disasters.
  • noun A national branch of this organization.
  • noun The emblem of this organization, a Geneva cross or a red Greek cross on a white background.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Wearing or bearing a red cross, such as the badge of the Order of the Temple, the cross of St. George, or one with a religious, social, or national meaning: as, a redcross knight (which see, below); the red-cross banner, the national flag of Great Britain.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • The crusaders or the cause they represented.
  • A hospital or ambulance service established as a result of, though not provided for by, the Geneva convention of 1864; any of the national societies for alleviating the sufferings of the sick and wounded war, also giving aid and relief during great calamities; also, a member or worker of such a society; -- so called from the badge of neutrality; the Geneva cross.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun An international humanitarian organization that cares for the wounded, sick, and homeless.
  • proper noun The symbol of this organization.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an international organization that cares for the sick or wounded or homeless in wartime

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Paola Castro said she called the Red Cross and fire brigade immediately, but firefighters said they were kept outside for half an hour by guards who fired their guns in the air, thinking they faced a riot or a breakout, the Associated Press reported.

    Honduras Prison Fire Kills Hundreds Nicholas Casey 2012

  • The sacks are marked with the Red Cross sign and the Korean words "Gift from the U.S.A."

    Starved For Cash 2008

  • I felt compelled to do something, so I called the Red Cross to offer my assistance.

    THEY NEEDED TO KNOW THE WORLD CARED 2007

  • Later that day, the next day, we called the Red Cross and told them we were transferring a million dollars of unrestricted funds to -- to be added to the -- to the aid program.

    CNN Transcript Sep 19, 2005 2005

  • I understand you called the Red Cross last night to get some information, get some help.

    CNN Transcript Sep 27, 2005 2005

  • So I got on the phone, I called Red Cross and they helped me.

    CNN Transcript Sep 26, 2005 2005

  • NOSTAJA: I-- after watching your show, watching CNN, the early days of the hurricane, I called the Red Cross and said, Can I get involved, and what do I need to do?

    CNN Transcript Sep 15, 2005 2005

  • Paola Castro said she called the Red Cross and fire brigade immediately but firefighters said they were kept outside for half an hour by guards who fired their guns in the air, thinking they had a riot or a breakout on their hands.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2012

  • Comayagua governor Paola Castro said she called the Red Cross and fire brigade immediately.

    Evening Standard - Home 2012

  • Comayagua governor Paola Castro said she called the Red Cross and fire brigade immediately.

    WalesOnline - Home WalesOnline 2012

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