congested

adjective

con·​gest·​ed kən-ˈje-stəd 

1

: extremely or excessively full or crowded

The trains ferried orphaned and abandoned kids from the congested East to new families and new lives in the heartland.

… 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

During Wolverhampton Wanderers’ FA Cup game against Bournemouth, a congested penalty area meant officials could not rely on the technology and there was an eight-minute delay. —Cerys Jones, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2025

If possible, look for spring or fall sailings when the weather is mild and the streets, and cruise ports, are less congested. —David Nikel, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2025

Continuing north under Canal, the new subway would bring precious new mobility to the congested and fast-growing River West and Fulton River districts, two formerly obscure tracts of warehouses and railroad spurs now throbbing with residential development — and auto traffic. —F.k. Plous, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2025

The signals are designed to improve traffic flow on congested expressways. —Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 12 Aug. 2025

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