traffic

American  

[traf-ik] / ˈtræf ɪk /

noun

1. the movement of vehicles, ships, persons, etc., in an area, along a street, through an air lane, over a water route, etc..

   the heavy traffic on Main Street.

2. the vehicles, persons, etc., moving in an area, along a street, etc.

3. the transportation of goods for the purpose of trade, by sea, land, or air.

   ships of traffic.

4. trade; buying and selling; commercial dealings.

5. trade between different countries or places; commerce.

6. the business done by a railroad or other carrier in the transportation of freight or passengers.

7. the aggregate of freight, passengers, telephone or telegraph messages, etc., handled, especially in a given period.

8. communication, dealings, or contact between persons or groups.

   traffic between the Democrats and the Republicans.

9. mutual exchange or communication.

   traffic in ideas.

10. trade in some specific commodity or service, often of an illegal nature.

    the vast traffic in narcotics.

11. illegal commercial trade in human beings for the purpose of exploiting them.

    the traffic in young children.

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verb (used without object)

trafficked, trafficking

1. to carry on traffic, trade, or commercial dealings.

2. to trade or deal in a specific commodity or service, often of an illegal nature (usually followed byin ).

   to traffic in opium.

verb (used with object)

trafficked, trafficking

1. (of vehicles or persons) to move over or through (a place).

   It's a heavily trafficked bridge.

2. to trade or deal in (a commodity or service).

   to traffic guns.

3. to trade in (human beings) for the purpose of exploitation.

   He was convicted for trafficking illegal immigrants.

traffic British  

/ ˈtræfɪk /

noun

1. 1. the vehicles coming and going in a street, town, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      traffic lights

2. the movement of vehicles, people, etc, in a particular place or for a particular purpose

   sea traffic

3. 1. the business of commercial transportation by land, sea, or air

   2. the freight, passengers, etc, transported

4. (usually foll by with) dealings or business

   have no traffic with that man

5. trade, esp of an illicit or improper kind

   drug traffic

6. the aggregate volume of messages transmitted through a communications system in a given period

7. the number of customers patronizing a commercial establishment in a given time period

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verb

1. (often foll by in) to carry on trade or business, esp of an illicit kind

2. (usually foll by with) to have dealings

Related Words

See trade.

Other Word Forms

• intertraffic noun
• trafficker noun
• trafficless adjective
• untrafficked adjective

Etymology

Origin of traffic

First recorded in 1495–1505; earlier traffyk, from Middle French trafique (noun), trafiquer; (verb) from Italian traffico (noun), trafficare (verb), of disputed origin

Example Sentences

According to the Flight Radar website, which monitors air traffic, the downed aircraft is a small Cirrus SR 20 and had taken off from Birmingham.

From BBC

The league has even employed pilots, air traffic controllers, and a rocket scientist.

From Barron's

For spectators, car travel will often remain faster, despite the risk of traffic jams, very limited access to the resorts and reservation-only parking.

From Barron's

Venezuela, drug trafficking, oil, security and US strikes on alleged drug vessels will be high on the agenda when they meet at the White House on Tuesday.

From BBC

It wasn’t just the roads that were attracting traffic, either.

From Literature

Related Words

• freight
• gridlock
• influx
• movement
• service
• shipment
• transit
• transport
• transportation
• travel