traffic jam
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Like a traffic jam, even a small blockage in a single sea lane can snarl backward long after the wreckage clears.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
"But we don't yet know whether the action that starts the ridge just isn't happening or whether the traffic jam afterward isn't happening," he said.
From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026
"It's not like a traffic jam that becomes chaotic."
From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026
Fleeing patrons seemed to have caused a traffic jam while crossing a nearby street from the mall.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 28, 2025
“You’re causing a traffic jam, Matthew,” their mom said.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
