traffic

1 of 2

noun

traf·​fic ˈtra-fik 

often attributive

1

a(1)

: the vehicles, pedestrians, ships, or planes moving along a route

(2)

: congestion of vehicles

stuck in traffic

(3)

: the movement (as of vehicles or pedestrians) through an area or along a route

b

: the information or signals transmitted over a communications system : messages

2

: the volume of customers visiting a business establishment

restaurant traffic

3

a

: the passengers or cargo carried by a transportation system

b

: the business of transporting passengers or freight

4

a

: import and export trade

b

: the business of bartering or buying and selling

c

: illegal or disreputable usually commercial activity

the drug traffic

5

a

: communication or dealings especially between individuals or groups

b

: exchange

a lively traffic in ideas

—F. L. Allen

6

: a concentration of participants or players and especially defensive players

force difficult shots in traffic

7

archaic : wares, goods

traffic

2 of 2

verb

trafficked; trafficking

intransitive verb

1

: to carry on traffic

2

: to concentrate one's effort or interest

broadly : engage, deal

a writer who often traffics in hyperbole

transitive verb

1

a

: to travel over

heavily trafficked highways

b

: to visit as a customer

a highly trafficked bookstore

2

: trade, barter

trafficker noun

Phrases

the traffic will bear

: existing conditions will allow or permit

charge what the traffic will bear

Synonyms

Noun

• business
• commerce
• marketplace
• trade

Verb

• deal
• trade

Choose the Right Synonym for traffic

business, commerce, trade, industry, traffic mean activity concerned with the supplying and distribution of commodities.

business may be an inclusive term but specifically designates the activities of those engaged in the purchase or sale of commodities or in related financial transactions.

commerce and trade imply the exchange and transportation of commodities.

industry applies to the producing of commodities, especially by manufacturing or processing, usually on a large scale.

traffic applies to the operation and functioning of public carriers of goods and persons.

Examples of traffic in a Sentence

Noun

Let's leave early to avoid rush hour traffic.

Traffic is backed up to the bridge.

Barge traffic was halted because of flooding.

Airlines saw a decrease in passenger traffic this year.

Verb

arrested him for trafficking in drugs

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Justice Department officials are seeking to extradite Pérez Salas, who is charged in two U.S. jurisdictions with conspiring to traffic methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; laundering money; retaliating against witnesses; and possessing machine guns. —Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2023

Long lines of traffic also greeted motorists in Harford County, Maryland, on Thursday afternoon, after a crash involving 10 vehicles that injured two people. —Patrick Smith, NBC News, 24 Nov. 2023

The cameras have been the city’s main method of traffic enforcement for years and can issue fines up to $500. —Luz Lazo, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023

Out of abundance of caution, CBP temporarily suspended inbound/outbound traffic at 3 other Buffalo crossings that have since reopened. —Cara Tabachnick, CBS News, 22 Nov. 2023

Tellez said the department is still mapping out exactly where the cameras will be installed, though they typically are affixed to light and traffic poles in major thoroughfares and intersections. —Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Nov. 2023

The Peace, Queenston-Lewiston and Whirlpool-Rapids Bridges in Canada reopened to traffic in both directions later in the evening. —Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 22 Nov. 2023

Currently, the opportunity is so large that uploaders flood streaming services with undifferentiated noise recordings, hoping to attract enough search traffic to generate royalties. —Jem Aswad, Variety, 21 Nov. 2023

Setting up any street circuit for the first time involves traffic disruptions, but in Las Vegas that track prep took months and months as roads were prepared, and by race week noses were very out of joint. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 20 Nov. 2023

Verb

In addition to trafficking wildlife, an investigation also turned up evidence of money laundering committed from February to April 2022. —Antonio Planas, NBC News, 6 Nov. 2023

Southern Arizona has become a massive corridor for trafficking the synthetic opioid with nearly half of all border seizures occurring at federal checkpoints in the state. —Quinn Owen, ABC News, 7 Nov. 2023

In 2021, van der Sloot was convicted of trafficking cocaine into his prison and was sentenced to an additional 18 years in Peru, according to a sentencing memorandum. —Holly Yan, CNN, 18 Oct. 2023

Both were arrested on Sept. 9 and charged with trafficking marijuana, Fulton County Jail records show. —Henri Hollis, ajc, 15 Sep. 2023

The report said Black girls are more likely to be trafficked at a younger age than their racial counterparts, and, referencing data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, found that Black children make up more than 57% of all juvenile prostitution arrests. —Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2023

All of this, moreover, has provided a desperate client base for a burgeoning, cynical, and highly profitable international industry: people trafficking. —Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Sep. 2023

Additional authorization would need to be secured for endangered species, as part of an international partnership to protect wildlife from trafficking. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 11 Oct. 2023

Mexico and China are the primary sources for fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked directly into the U.S., according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is tasked with combating illicit drug trafficking. —Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle French trafique, from Old Italian traffico, from trafficare to trade in coastal waters

First Known Use

Noun

1511, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1537, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing traffic

• traffic court
• traffic cop
• traffic signal
• the traffic will bear
• traffic island
• traffic stop
• traffic circle
• foot traffic
• traffic ticket
• traffic jam
• traffic light
• traffic stopper
• traffic engineering
• air traffic control
• air traffic controller
• pedestrian/foot traffic
• traffic warden
• traffic cone
• traffic hazard

See More

• traffic court
• traffic cop
• traffic signal
• the traffic will bear
• traffic island
• traffic stop
• traffic circle
• foot traffic
• traffic ticket
• traffic jam
• traffic light
• traffic stopper
• traffic engineering
• air traffic control
• air traffic controller
• pedestrian/foot traffic
• traffic warden
• traffic cone
• traffic hazard

See More

Kids Definition

traffic

1 of 2 noun

traf·​fic ˈtraf-ik 

1

: the business of buying and selling : commerce

2

: communication or dealings between persons or groups

had no traffic with the enemy

3

a

: the movement (as of pedestrians or vehicles) through an area or along a route

heavy traffic in the kitchen before dinner

rush-hour traffic

b

: the vehicles, pedestrians, ships, or planes moving along a route

c

: a crowded mass of vehicles

stuck in traffic

4

a

: the passengers or goods carried by train, boat, or airplane

b

: the business of carrying passengers or goods

traffic

2 of 2 verb

trafficked; trafficking

: to carry on traffic : trade, deal

trafficker noun

Legal Definition

traffic

1 of 2 noun

traf·​fic

often attributive

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

: the movement (as of vehicles or pedestrians) through an area or along a route

b

: the vehicles, pedestrians, ships, or planes moving along a route

c

: the information or signals transmitted over a communications system

3

a

: the passengers or cargo carried by a transportation system

b

: the business of transporting passengers or freight

traffic

2 of 2 verb

trafficked; trafficking

intransitive verb

: to carry on traffic

transitive verb

1

: to travel over

2

: to engage in the trading or bartering of

trafficker noun