traffic

American  

[traf-ik] / ˈtræf ɪk /

noun

• traffic
  plural

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)

• traffics,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trafficked,
  past participle,  past
• trafficking
  present participle

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)

• traffics,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trafficked,
  past participle,  past
• trafficking
  present participle

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

Synonym Usage

See trade.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• traffic
  plural

Participles

• trafficking
  present
• trafficked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• traffic
  simple
• traffics
  simple
• have trafficked
  perfect
• has trafficked
  perfect
• am trafficking
  progressive
• are trafficking
  progressive
• is trafficking
  progressive
• have been trafficking
  perfect progressive
• has been trafficking
  perfect progressive

Past

• trafficked
  simple
• had trafficked
  perfect
• was trafficking
  progressive
• were trafficking
  progressive
• had been trafficking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will traffic
  simple
• will have trafficked
  perfect
• will be trafficking
  progressive
• will have been trafficking
  perfect progressive

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

Explanation

If you drive during rush hour, you're likely to hit some heavy traffic, and if you get stuck in a big traffic jam, you'll definitely be late. It's not just cars that create traffic — a large number of anything trying to occupy the same space adds up to traffic. Internet providers may see a lot of traffic when there's big news and everyone is trying to sign on to find out what happened. Pedestrians also create traffic, like those walking past your new burrito palace and pet costume shop. While your business may be perfectly respectable, you would want to watch out for people who traffic stolen goods and illegal drugs. In that sense, traffic acts as a verb indicating you're trading something, often illegally.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

traffic traffics trafficked trafficking

"The new crossing will make such shipments much easier and more efficient," he said, calling it a "groundbreaking development" that will will triple of quadruple cargo traffic.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Once hired purely for pest control, these employees are driving foot traffic and racking up thousands of viral views on social media.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

For McConnell, driving store traffic takes priority over upsells, particularly as consumers grapple with persistent inflation and elevated gas prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Audio recorded on air traffic control details a pilot asking for medical help, describing "a bloody nose" and "some bite marks", according to CBS News, BBC's US News partner.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

But the air traffic controllers only rolled their eyes.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

Like Cook, he traffics in clear-eyed, dispassionate analysis, not partisan wish-casting or political spin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

There is no evidence it produces or traffics fentanyl, which is typically made in Mexico and smuggled over land, experts note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025

Pecker described his business as "checkbook journalism" and agreed with Colangelo that he traffics in "juicy stories."

From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2024

Like any tech company that traffics in attention, it has every reason to keep users inside the walled garden as long as possible and little incentive to see them graduate.

From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2023

"You come now to me with proof that my lady baroness traffics with Mexico as well as England," he resumed.

From 54-40 or Fight by Emerson Hough

Spain’s beachside paradise of Costa del Sol has become one of the most trafficked ports of entry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

She called on Ukraine and the leaders of other countries whose citizens were trafficked to provide evidence of this "human trafficking" to prosecute those responsible.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Odisha's forest minister has said investigators are examining whether the animals were trafficked into the country by an international smuggling network and abandoned near a highway.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

It’s not clear when the trafficked animals might join the roughly 12,000 turtles, frogs, octopuses, penguins, sharks and other sea creatures currently on public display.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

The road was well trafficked, and at night for their comfort there were rude inns to be found.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

The resulting trafficking network is more diffuse and expansive than before the missile strikes from drones and aircraft began.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Law-enforcement officers who suspected Antoine Jones of drug trafficking placed a small GPS tracking device underneath his car and remotely monitored its movements on public streets for 28 days.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

The billionaire has said he did not know about Epstein's crimes until he was charged with sex trafficking in July 2019.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Patel angrily rejected the allegations during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and lauded the FBI's record in reducing violent crime, fighting drug trafficking and prosecuting fraud.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

The government forbade any trafficking in Indian antiquities and had given the priest a general concession, authorizing him to catalogue whatever he found and hand it over to the museum.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

Related Words

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