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
By the time McGuire was aware of the traffic stop, federal agents with the Baltimore office had already interviewed the owner of the car Abrego Garcia had been driving.
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Travis Loller The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 27 Feb. 2026
Defense attorney David Patton said another Homeland Security office had known about the traffic stop earlier but did not pursue charges and closed its investigation before reopening the matter after the Supreme Court’s intervention.
—Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026
The official story — that 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez hit an ICE officer with his vehicle at a traffic stop — is one of ICE’s go-tos that has been repeatedly dismissed in court recently.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2026
But within two minutes, that traffic stop turned into a chaotic interaction with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and ended with his boyfriend being taken away.
—Charlotte Observer, 27 Feb. 2026
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Travis Loller The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 27 Feb. 2026
Defense attorney David Patton said another Homeland Security office had known about the traffic stop earlier but did not pursue charges and closed its investigation before reopening the matter after the Supreme Court’s intervention.
—Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026
The official story — that 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez hit an ICE officer with his vehicle at a traffic stop — is one of ICE’s go-tos that has been repeatedly dismissed in court recently.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2026
But within two minutes, that traffic stop turned into a chaotic interaction with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and ended with his boyfriend being taken away.
—Charlotte Observer, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for traffic stop
Cite this Entry
“Traffic stop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/traffic%20stop. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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