trafficking
Americannoun
-
the practice of dealing or trading in a commodity or service, often an illegal one.
drug trafficking.
Etymology
Origin of trafficking
First recorded in 1530–40; traffic ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. )
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.
But as the former federal prosecutors and ATF agents I spoke with noted, the key question when it comes to the fight against trafficking is whether prosecutors are seeking out cases.
From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026
Across the country, federal prosecutors took on trafficking cases with gusto.
From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026
The 47-year-old lawyer promised to build supermax prisons in the Amazon while reinforcing the army to smash trafficking groups.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
In August 2022, Jose Manuel Perez pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of smuggling goods into the country and one count of wildlife trafficking.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 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
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.
