n.
Pronunciation: ' tra-fik
Function: noun
Usage: often attrib
Etymology: Middle French trafique, from Old Italian traffico, from trafficare to trade in coastal waters
Date: 1549
1 a : import and export trade b : the business of bartering or buying and selling c : illegal or disreputable usually commercial activity <the drug traffic >
2 a : communication or dealings especially between individuals or groups b : EXCHANGE <a lively traffic in ideas ― F. L. Allen>
3 archaic : WARES , GOODS
4 a (1) : the movement (as of vehicles or pedestrians) through an area or along a route (2) : the vehicles, pedestrians, ships, or planes moving along a route (3) : congestion of vehicles <stuck in traffic > b : the information or signals transmitted over a communications system : MESSAGES
5 a : the passengers or cargo carried by a transportation system b : the business of transporting passengers or freight
6 : the volume of customers visiting a business establishment <restaurant traffic >
7 : a concentration of participants or players and especially defensive players <force difficult shots in traffic >
synonyms see BUSINESS
– the traffic will bear : existing conditions will allow or permit <charge what the traffic will bear >