- 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. We got used to the constant noise of the traffic. Wordfindercaraccelerate, brake, car, commute, driving, licence, motorist, road, road tax, traffic CollocationsDrivingHaving a car have/own/(British English) run a car ride a motorcycle/motorbike drive/prefer/use an automatic/a manual/(North American English, informal) a stick shift have/get your car serviced/fixed/repaired buy/sell a used car/(especially British English) a second-hand car take/pass/fail a (British English) driving test/(both North American English) driver’s test/road test get/obtain/have/lose/carry a/your (British English) driving licence/(North American English) driver’s licenseDriving put on/fasten/(North American English) buckle/wear/undo your seat belt/safety belt put/turn/leave the key in the ignition start the car/engine (British English) change/(North American English) shift/put something into gear press/put your foot on the brake pedal/clutch/accelerator release the clutch/(especially British English) the handbrake/(both North American English) the emergency brake/the parking brake drive/park/reverse the car (British English) indicate left/right (especially North American English) signal that you are turning left/right take/miss (British English) the turning/(especially North American English) the turn apply/hit/slam on the brake(s) beep/honk/(especially British English) toot/(British English) sound your hornProblems and accidents a car skids/crashes (into something)/collides (with something) swerve to avoid an oncoming car/a pedestrian crash/lose control of the car have/be in/be killed in/survive a car crash/a car accident/(North American English) a car wreck/a hit-and-run be run over/knocked down by a car/bus/truck dent/hit (British English) the bonnet/(North American English) the hood break/crack/shatter (British English) the windscreen/(North American English) the windshield blow/(especially British English) burst/puncture (British English) a tyre/(North American English) a tire get/have (British English) a flat tyre/a flat tire/a puncture inflate/change/fit/replace/check a tyre/tire Traffic and driving regulations be caught in/get stuck in/sit in a traffic jam cause congestion/tailbacks/traffic jams/gridlock experience/face lengthy delays beat/avoid the traffic/the rush hour break/observe/(North American English) drive the speed limit be caught on (British English) a speed camera stop somebody for/pull somebody over for/(British English, informal) be done for speeding (both informal) run/(British English) jump a red light/the lights be arrested for/charged with (British English) drink-driving/(both US English) driving under the influence (DUI)/driving while intoxicated (DWI) be banned/(British English) disqualified from driving Wordfindertrafficclamp, cone, contraflow, pedestrian, roadworks, speed hump, tailback, toll, traffic, zebra crossing Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivebad, bumper-to-bumper, busy, … … of trafficstream verb + trafficgenerate, increase, cut, … traffic + verbbuild up, thicken, grow, … traffic + nounaccident, fatality, hazard, … phrasesthe volume of traffic See full entry See related entries: Motoring problems and accidents, Driving
- 2the movement of ships, trains, aircraft, etc. along a particular route transatlantic traffic air traffic control Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivebad, bumper-to-bumper, busy, … … of trafficstream verb + trafficgenerate, increase, cut, … traffic + verbbuild up, thicken, grow, … traffic + nounaccident, fatality, hazard, … phrasesthe volume of traffic See full entry
- 3the movement of people or goods from one place to another commuter/freight/passenger traffic the traffic of goods between one country and another Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivebad, bumper-to-bumper, busy, … … of trafficstream verb + trafficgenerate, increase, cut, … traffic + verbbuild up, thicken, grow, … traffic + nounaccident, fatality, hazard, … phrasesthe volume of traffic See full entry
- 4the movement of messages and signals through an electronic communication system the computer servers that manage global Internet traffic Telecom operators have upgraded their networks to improve their capacity as data traffic increases. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveradio, telephone, data, … verb + trafficboost, build, generate, … traffic + verbflow, grow, increase, … traffic + nounpattern, load, capacity, … See full entry
- 5traffic (in something) illegal trade in something the traffic in firearms Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveillegal, arms, drug, … prepositiontraffic in something See full entry Word Originearly 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.Extra examples Building larger roads could generate more traffic. I stood waiting for a gap in the oncoming traffic. In the town centre, traffic was already building up as early as 3 p.m. Our company will help you generate site traffic. She waved her arms at the passing traffic, pleading for someone to stop. Sheep are a traffic hazard in the hills. The cop was shot during a routine traffic stop. The driver calmly navigated the heavy traffic. The road is being widened to keep traffic moving. The traffic was terrible on the way here. These tips should help you generate more targeted traffic to your website. Through traffic is directed around the bypass. Traffic clogs the streets of the city centre. Traffic has increased by 50% in ten years. Traffic thins noticeably after 9 a.m. Traffic was held up for six hours by the accident. We joined the traffic heading north. We set off early to beat the traffic. Widening the road would improve traffic flow. a policeman on traffic duty an air traffic controller the traffic in arms Commuter traffic has increased again this year. Expect traffic delays around the area. Flooding caused traffic chaos. He pleaded guilty to a minor traffic offence/violation. He used to be a traffic cop. I was stuck in heavy traffic for over an hour. The airline’s transatlantic traffic fell by 8 per cent. The area is closed to through traffic. The line is used by both passenger and freight traffic. The town’s medieval streets cannot cope with modern commuter traffic. There was no traffic on the road. There will be an increase in the volume of traffic. There’s always a lot of traffic at this time of day. They joined the rush-hour traffic into the city. Traffic flow has improved since the charge was introduced. Traffic fumes are the main cause of air pollution. Traffic of goods between the two regions was severely disrupted during the war. Traffic was lighter than usual.
noun jump to other results
BrE BrE//ˈtræfɪk//; NAmE NAmE//ˈtræfɪk//
[uncountable] Motoring problems and accidents, DrivingCheck pronunciation: traffic
