That part of an entity which is cognitively activated, and thus 'active', by virtue of linguistic context. For instance, in examples such as the following:

1. Max heard the trumpet
2. Max saw the trumpet the verbs hear and saw serve to activate different aspects of our knowledge associated with trumpets. In (1), the active zone relates to knowledge concerning the kind of sound emitted by trumpets, while in (2) the active zone concerns the visual properties associated with trumpets, such as their shape and color. The notion of an active zone is an important construct in cognitive grammar.