Meaning & use
traffic
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
Vehicles moving along a road or other route.
Grammar: Uncountable: say 'traffic is heavy', not 'traffics are heavy'. Use 'a lot of traffic' or 'heavy traffic'.
Patterns
- heavy traffic
- traffic is bad
- get stuck in traffic
The traffic on the highway was terrible this morning.
We were late because we got stuck in traffic.
There is always a lot of traffic near the stadium after a game.
noununcountable
The movement of people, goods, or messages along a route or system.
Grammar: Uncountable; often used with 'air', 'rail', 'foot', or 'Internet' before it.
Patterns
- air traffic
- passenger traffic
- Internet traffic
The airport handles a lot of passenger traffic in summer.
Rail traffic was stopped after the storm.
The company monitors Internet traffic for security.
noununcountable
The illegal buying and selling of goods, drugs, or people.
Grammar: Uncountable; often used in phrases like 'drug traffic' or 'human traffic'.
Patterns
- drug traffic
- human traffic
- the traffic in something
The police are trying to stop the drug traffic across the border.
Human traffic is a serious international crime.
They were arrested for their part in the traffic of stolen art.
verbintransitive
To buy and sell something illegal or harmful.
Grammar: Usually followed by 'in': traffic in drugs. It does not take a direct object without 'in'.
Patterns
- traffic in something
He was accused of trafficking in counterfeit goods.
The gang trafficked in stolen cars for years.
She was arrested for trafficking in illegal weapons.
Word forms
| third person singular | traffics |
|---|---|
| past tense | trafficked |
| past participle | trafficked |
| -ing form | trafficking |
Common combinations
- heavy traffic
- We left early to avoid heavy traffic.
- traffic jam
- A traffic jam delayed us for an hour.
- traffic light
- Turn left at the traffic light.
- traffic accident
- He was injured in a traffic accident.
- traffic in drugs
- They were arrested for trafficking in drugs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- congestion
- Congestion is more formal and often describes roads or airports being too full; traffic is the general word for vehicles on a route.
- trade
- Trade means buying and selling in general; traffic is used mainly for illegal or harmful goods.
Word family
- trafficker noun
- A person who buys and sells illegal goods.
- trafficking noun
- The crime of buying and selling people or illegal goods.
Commonly confused: traffic or traffic?
traffic vs traffic
Do not confuse with 'traffick' (a rare verb meaning to trade); the common verb is 'traffic', with double 'f' and 'c' before 'k' in the -ing form: trafficking.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
'Traffic' is uncountable, so it takes a singular verb and no plural -s. 'Was' is correct; 'were' and 'traffics' are wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “traffic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.