/ ˈtræfɪk; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun [ U ]
1.
the vehicles that are on a road at a particular time :
heavy / rush-hour traffic
local / through traffic
There's always a lot of traffic at this time of day.
They were stuck in traffic and missed their flight.
a plan to reduce traffic congestion
traffic police (= who control traffic on a road or stop drivers who are breaking the law)
The delay is due simply to the volume of traffic .
2.
the movement of ships, trains, aircraft, etc. along a particular route :
transatlantic traffic
air traffic control
3.
the movement of people or goods from one place to another :
commuter / freight / passenger traffic
the traffic of goods between one country and another
4.
the movement of messages and signals through an electronic communication system :
the computer servers that manage global Internet traffic
5.
traffic (in sth) illegal trade in sth :
the traffic in firearms
■ verb
( -ck- )
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- traffic in sth
► traf·fick·er noun :
a drugs trafficker
► traf·fick·ing noun [ U ]:
drug trafficking
••
WORD ORIGIN
early 16th cent. (denoting commercial transportation of merchandise or passengers): from French traffique , Spanish tráfico , or Italian traffico , of unknown origin. Sense 1 dates from the early 19th cent.