traffic stop

noun

plural traffic stops

: an instance of police stopping a driver (as for speeding or a broken taillight)

She was pulled over for a routine traffic stop.

an officer making a traffic stop

Examples of traffic stop in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The family of a man who died after a police traffic stop in Inglewood last month has denounced law enforcement and city officials for their handling of the case, prompting calls for California’s attorney general to launch an independent investigation. —Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026

The vehicle was traveling off the roadway and across a grassy area on its way to the B&A Boulevard when police initiated the traffic stop and citations. —Andrew Adeolu, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2026

Video footage captured by a passing motorist’s dash camera showed ICE agents shooting Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez early Tuesday, apparently through the window of his car, following a traffic stop on a freeway overpass in a rural corner of the Central Valley, near the town of Patterson. —Sacbee.com, 9 Apr. 2026

Altercations in or around vehicles have been a steady symbol of the administration’s immigration crackdown, including car crashes between federal agents and people who try to flee, traffic stops turned violent and alleged rammings involving pro-immigrant activists. —Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for traffic stop

• barbershop
• countertop
• lollipop
• mountaintop
• overtop
• photoshop
• tabletop
• turboprop
• atop
• backdrop
• backstop
• bebop