traffic cop

American

noun

Informal.

a police officer who directs the flow of traffic, usually at an intersection.

traffic cop British

noun

informal a policeman who supervises road traffic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

traffic cops

plural

Etymology

Origin of traffic cop

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

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.

See Examples For:

traffic cop

A decade ago, he played traffic cop to an intrasquad rivalry between Hamilton and his German teammate Nico Rosberg.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

Five Scottish tries in the bag, a 27-point lead on the board and Finn Russell directing his players around the pitch with the authority of the world's greatest traffic cop.

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2025

The FAA is going to have to be the traffic cop here, and it’s not going to make the airlines happy.

From Slate ● Apr. 11, 2023

Daniels often operates like a traffic cop at the top of the high post while directing the offense.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2023

He held up a hand like a traffic cop, stopping Emily.

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