congested

adjective

con·​gest·​ed kən-ˈje-stəd 

1

: extremely or excessively full or crowded

… it must be clear that the continuance is not being granted solely because of the court's congested calendar.

—The National Law Journal

Under the pressure of the weather conditions, congested traffic and wind shear, the crew never was able to stabilize the airplane on the ILS approach into JFK and had to execute a missed approach.

—Patrick R. Veillette

2

medical : containing an excessive accumulation especially of blood or mucus

congested lungs/sinuses

Examples of congested in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Slots and gates are valuable in congested airports like LaGuardia because tight airspace restrictions and crowded airports in a big city like New York cap airline growth. — Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 20 July 2026

Switzerland are a stronger defensive side than Egypt, conceding just three shots on target in 120 minutes against Colombia, a game that showed their ability to make things compact, congested and difficult out of possession. — Phil Hay, New York Times, 16 July 2026

The result is a faster front end feeding an increasingly congested pipeline, slowing anything coming out the back end. — Jamie Garverick, Fortune, 15 July 2026

Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear that can cause severe dizziness, ringing in the ears, hearing loss and ears feeling congested, according to the NIH. — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1830, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for congested

• arrested
• attested
• contested
• detested
• digested
• divested
• infested
• ingested
• invested
• molested
• pretested
• protested

Medical Definition

congested

adjective

con·​gest·​ed kən-ˈjes-təd 

: containing an excessive accumulation especially of blood or mucus

congested mucous membranes

congested lungs