traffic cone

noun

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Definition of traffic cone

: a conical marker used on a road or highway (as for indicating an area under repair)

See traffic cone defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of traffic cone from the Web

The show was held on a patch of astroturf enclosed by Tiffany-blue traffic cones, and if the rooftop hadn’t been shrouded in mist that night, there would’ve been a clear view of Central Park and Fifth Avenue’s row of luxury flagships.

— dan adler, Vanities, "A$AP Ferg Shuts Down Tiffany’s," 1 June 2018
The perimeter around the sinkhole, two traffic cones with some caution tape, was expanded to a larger enclosure with orange safety fencing over the weekend.

— betsy klein, CNN, "Let it sink in: The White House sinkhole is no more," 29 May 2018
The hole appears to be just outside the office of White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley and has been roped off with caution tape and traffic cones by groundskeepers.

— megan mccluskey, Time, "A Sinkhole Has Been Spotted on the White House Lawn and the Metaphors Write Themselves," 22 May 2018
The woman was caught on video driving slowly thorough a barrier of traffic cones and into the path of the runners, even as one of them started pushing on her car’s hood in a failed attempt to stop her, SWNS reports.

— gary gastelu, Fox News, "Angry woman caught driving her car into path of half marathon," 22 May 2018
Literal paper flowers burst outside of four existing bodegas, with everything from sidewalk seating to traffic cones covered in a coat of unmistakable robin’s egg blue.

— The Cut, "Why “Tiffany Blue” Was All Over Instagram This Month," 18 May 2018
Don't miss out on the Golden Wheel Carnival, the Bear Paw Grand Parade at 11 a.m. on July 14, and The Slippery Salmon Olympics, in which teams of two swerve around orange traffic cones hauling a whole salmon and other objects.

— yoshina okamoto, Anchorage Daily News, "Here’s your Alaska summer 2018 festival guide," 17 May 2018
The height of South Rendon is measured by trashcan, and a tiny traffic cone belies what’s wrong on Chamberlain.

— chelsea brasted, NOLA.com, "Ode to a New Orleans pothole: How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways," 27 Feb. 2018
Perhaps DeMaria could lend Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh a few of his traffic cones. 2. Free the South Boston Bypass Road and Silver Line ramp.

— shirley leung, BostonGlobe.com, "5 things we can do to fix Seaport District traffic," 9 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'traffic cone.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of traffic cone

1953

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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TRAFFIC CONE Defined for English Language Learners

traffic cone

noun

Definition of traffic cone for English Language Learners

: a brightly colored plastic cone that is placed on a road to warn drivers not to drive too close to an area where work is being done, an accident has occurred, etc.