traffic
Americannoun
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the movement of vehicles, ships, persons, etc., in an area, along a street, through an air lane, over a water route, etc..
the heavy traffic on Main Street.
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the vehicles, persons, etc., moving in an area, along a street, etc.
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the transportation of goods for the purpose of trade, by sea, land, or air.
ships of traffic.
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trade; buying and selling; commercial dealings.
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trade between different countries or places; commerce.
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the business done by a railroad or other carrier in the transportation of freight or passengers.
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the aggregate of freight, passengers, telephone or telegraph messages, etc., handled, especially in a given period.
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communication, dealings, or contact between persons or groups.
traffic between the Democrats and the Republicans.
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mutual exchange or communication.
traffic in ideas.
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trade in some specific commodity or service, often of an illegal nature.
the vast traffic in narcotics.
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illegal commercial trade in human beings for the purpose of exploiting them.
the traffic in young children.
verb (used without object)
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to carry on traffic, trade, or commercial dealings.
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to trade or deal in a specific commodity or service, often of an illegal nature (usually followed byin ).
to traffic in opium.
verb (used with object)
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(of vehicles or persons) to move over or through (a place).
It's a heavily trafficked bridge.
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to trade or deal in (a commodity or service).
to traffic guns.
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to trade in (human beings) for the purpose of exploitation.
He was convicted for trafficking illegal immigrants.
noun
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the vehicles coming and going in a street, town, etc
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( as modifier )
traffic lights
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the movement of vehicles, people, etc, in a particular place or for a particular purpose
sea traffic
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the business of commercial transportation by land, sea, or air
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the freight, passengers, etc, transported
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(usually foll by with) dealings or business
have no traffic with that man
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trade, esp of an illicit or improper kind
drug traffic
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the aggregate volume of messages transmitted through a communications system in a given period
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the number of customers patronizing a commercial establishment in a given time period
verb
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(often foll by in) to carry on trade or business, esp of an illicit kind
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(usually foll by with) to have dealings
Related Words
See trade.
Other Word Forms
- intertraffic noun
- trafficker noun
- trafficless adjective
- untrafficked adjective
Etymology
Origin of traffic
First recorded in 1495–1505; earlier traffyk, from Middle French trafique (noun), trafiquer; (verb) from Italian traffico (noun), trafficare (verb), of disputed origin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Freeman grew up in Orange County, so he takes the L.A. traffic in stride.
From Los Angeles Times
"The council budget can't afford to employ traffic wardens and the income from the parking charges will allow us to employ them," Hampshire said.
From BBC
Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, the UAE and Israel all closed their airspaces to civilian traffic, at least in part, and multiple airlines cancelled flights to the Middle East.
From Barron's
Dubai airport, the world's busiest for international traffic, and Jebel Ali seaport also suffered damage as the unprecedented attacks hit some of the city's major landmarks and revenue-earners.
From Barron's
The lavish presents - all clearly marked with designer labels - piled up and decorated like a Christmas tree, the expensive trips to five-star resorts around the world, the extravagant wedding parties that closed roads to traffic.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
