congested; congesting; congests
1
: to concentrate in a small or narrow space
2
: to cause an excessive accumulation especially of blood or mucus in (such as an organ or part)
3
: clog
traffic congested the highways
: to become congested
Synonyms
Examples of congest in a Sentence
the usual weekend traffic congested the region's highways
Recent Examples on the Web
All outbound freeways are likely to be congested on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.
—
Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Nov. 2023
Mayor Karen Bass urged commuters to use the other freeways around downtown and stay off local streets that are becoming increasingly congested.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2023
Ingredients like peptides and ceramides can help strengthen, plump, and replenish your skin without congesting your pores.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 25 Oct. 2023
The 366 miles of I-65 from the Tennessee-Alabama state line south to Mobile is often congested, especially during summer weekends, as tourists flock south or return north following weekend visits to the beaches.
—John Sharp | Jsharp@al.com, al, 8 Aug. 2023
Traffic was congested near the site of the crash in the immediate aftermath of the incident, according to a map from TRIMARC.
—Lucas Aulbach, The Courier-Journal, 2 Aug. 2023
Robert Watson’s not very princely Prince summons some impressive top notes, but his tenor tends to congest a bit below.
—Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 8 Aug. 2023
If the ramp becomes too backed up, the queue loops will tell the metering lights to shift to a faster cycle regardless of how badly congested the highway may be.
—Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2023
Traffic was congested at the time on Interstate 10, where Tiner caused the crash, due to an earlier incident, officials say.
—Eli Masket, CNN, 30 June 2023
See More
Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Nov. 2023
Mayor Karen Bass urged commuters to use the other freeways around downtown and stay off local streets that are becoming increasingly congested.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2023
Ingredients like peptides and ceramides can help strengthen, plump, and replenish your skin without congesting your pores.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 25 Oct. 2023
The 366 miles of I-65 from the Tennessee-Alabama state line south to Mobile is often congested, especially during summer weekends, as tourists flock south or return north following weekend visits to the beaches.
—John Sharp | Jsharp@al.com, al, 8 Aug. 2023
Traffic was congested near the site of the crash in the immediate aftermath of the incident, according to a map from TRIMARC.
—Lucas Aulbach, The Courier-Journal, 2 Aug. 2023
Robert Watson’s not very princely Prince summons some impressive top notes, but his tenor tends to congest a bit below.
—Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 8 Aug. 2023
If the ramp becomes too backed up, the queue loops will tell the metering lights to shift to a faster cycle regardless of how badly congested the highway may be.
—Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2023
Traffic was congested at the time on Interstate 10, where Tiner caused the crash, due to an earlier incident, officials say.
—Eli Masket, CNN, 30 June 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'congest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Latin congestus, past participle of congerere to bring together, from com- + gerere to bear
First Known Use
1599, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near congest
Cite this Entry
“Congest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/congest. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
congest
verb
con·gest
kən-ˈjest 
1
: to cause an excessive accumulation especially of blood or mucus in (as an organ or body part)
More from Merriam-Webster on congest
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share