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

In addition, the hearing highlighted the infamously congested airspace around the airport, where helicopters and planes have long intermingled in very close proximity despite safety concerns. —Adam Carlson, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026

Instead, investigators placed the blame on multiple overlapping problems — including the location of a helicopter route in some of the nation's most congested airspace, along with critical equipment failures and human errors. —Joel Rose, NPR, 27 Jan. 2026

Some might see the area as a cut-through when the highways are too congested, or a street for driving only. —Bridget Fogarty, jsonline.com, 27 Jan. 2026

Of the several dozen fans across the grounds that Sportico spoke with, the vast majority shared the sentiment that the grounds pass is still good value, despite the wait times to get into certain courts and overly congested spaces. —Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 26 Jan. 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