congested

adjective

con·​gest·​ed kən-ˈje-stəd 

1

: extremely or excessively full or crowded

The trains ferried orphaned and abandoned kids from the congested East to new families and new lives in the heartland.

… 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

The suit also faults the Federal Aviation Administration for allowing the congested airspace to exist and the actions of controllers. —Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025

The tunnel targets the hardest, most congested part of the route, providing a nearly flat, straight route, according to the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). —Amira El-Fekki‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025

Reading the Dominican Republic Tourism website, prospective vacationers wouldn’t expect a congested vacation. —Gary Stoller, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025

The idea is that it would be removed from the congested city and close to the suburbs where people preferred to live. —Jamie L. Lareau, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2025

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