- Main Entry:
- 1traf·fic
- Pronunciation:
-
\ˈtra-fik\
- Function:
- noun
- Usage:
- often attributive
- Etymology:
- Middle French trafique, from Old Italian traffico, from trafficare to trade in coastal waters
- Date:
- 1549
1 a: import and export trade b: the business of bartering or buying and selling c: illegal or disreputable usually commercial activity <the drug traffic>2 a: communication or dealings especially between individuals or groups b: exchange <a lively traffic in ideas — F. L. Allen>3archaic : wares, goods4 a (1): the movement (as of vehicles or pedestrians) through an area or along a route (2): the vehicles, pedestrians, ships, or planes moving along a route (3): congestion of vehicles <stuck in traffic> b: the information or signals transmitted over a communications system : messages5 a: the passengers or cargo carried by a transportation system b: the business of transporting passengers or freight6: the volume of customers visiting a business establishment <restaurant traffic>7: a concentration of participants or players and especially defensive players <force difficult shots in traffic>
—
the traffic will bear : existing conditions will allow or permit <charge what the traffic will bear>
