buffer zone

plural buffer zones

1. governmentA neutral area that is located between hostile forces, and is designed to prevent hostilities.
2. USA transitional area between areas of different land use.

   1 more example

   And it had been a close-run thing for many of the nearest - perhaps too close. Councillor Renee Spector, a senior member of Birmingham City Council planning committee, told the local press that the accident might force "a rethink" about the way it considered future applications. "There is a case for a buffer zone, but the problem is that land is at such a premium it is difficult to insist on a large distance between houses and railway lines," she said.

   2026 March 18, Greg Morse, “1996 crash driving freight reforms”, in RAIL, number 1057, page 51

3. figurativelyA conceptual space between two things.

   Does she wear glasses with fashionable frames, has she had her lids lifted, does she streak or tint? All of these things are possible: we’ve both reached that borderline age, that buffer zone in which it can still be believed such tricks will work if you avoid bright sunlight.

   1988, Margaret Atwood, Cat's Eye

4. Synonym of bubble zone (“a perimeter around an abortion facility”).

   Synonyms: bubble zone