congested

adjective

con·​gest·​ed kən-ˈje-stəd 

1

: extremely or excessively full or crowded

… 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

Regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration are tightening safety rules in congested airspace around major airports, suspending the use of visual separation between helicopters and planes, the agency said on Wednesday. —Joel Rose, NPR, 18 Mar. 2026

From the roads between Midtown hotels and the matches at MetLife Stadium to spillover sidewalk crowds outside sports bars, the World Cup could be a congested, overcrowded nightmare — or a huge opportunity. —Ben Furnas, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2026

As the population of Alameda has grown, the Webster and Posey tubes which connect the island to downtown Oakland have developed into congested arteries. —Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2026

All draw overflow crowds, forcing people to park in surrounding neighborhoods and the already congested Corinne Drive. —Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Mar. 2026

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