traffic cop

American  

noun

Informal.

• traffic cops
  plural

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

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traffic cop British  

noun

1. informal a policeman who supervises road traffic

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• traffic cops
  plural

Etymology

Origin of traffic cop

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

Example Sentences

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

Dashcam footage showed Stevenson — an 11-year department veteran who previously worked as a traffic cop on the Westside — making a U-turn on Balboa moments before the collision, and racing down the street.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2025

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

Two: Madeleine Westerhout, who was basically the sort of traffic cop in the White House, sitting right outside the Oval Office, trying to direct what was happening.

From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2024

It had these very funny, crazy plays in it, and then it had this one story about a traffic cop that falls in love with this very cute girl that's always speeding.

From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger