traffic (traffics 3rd person present) (trafficking present participle) (trafficked past tense & past participle )
1 n-uncount Traffic refers to all the vehicles that are moving along the roads in a particular area.
also the N
There was heavy traffic on the roads..., ...the problems of city life, such as traffic congestion.
→
traffic jam
2 n-uncount Traffic refers to the movement of ships, trains, or aircraft between one place and another. Traffic also refers to the people and goods that are being transported.
with supp, usu n N
Air traffic had returned to normal..., The railways will carry a far higher proportion of freight traffic...
→
air traffic control
3 n-uncount Trafficin something such as drugs or stolen goods is an illegal trade in them.
with supp, usu N in n
Traffic in illicit drugs was now worth some 500 thousand million dollars a year.
4 verb Someone who trafficsin something such as drugs or stolen goods buys and sells them even though it is illegal to do so. The president said illegal drugs are hurting the entire world and anyone who traffics in them should be brought to justice. V in n
trafficking n-uncount usu n N He was sentenced to ten years in prison on charges of drug trafficking.
air traffic control
1 n-uncount Air traffic control is the activity of organizing the routes that aircraft should follow, and telling pilots by radio which routes they should take.
oft N n
...the nation's overburdened air-traffic-control system.
2 n-uncount-coll Air traffic control is the group of people who organize the routes aircraft take.
They have to wait for clearance from air traffic control.
air traffic controller (air traffic controllers plural )An air traffic controller is someone whose job is to organize the routes that aircraft should follow, and to tell pilots by radio which routes they should take. n-count
traffic calming , traffic-calming
Traffic calming consists of measures designed to make roads safer, for example making them narrower or placing obstacles in them, so that drivers are forced to slow down. n-uncount usu N n
...traffic calming schemes.
traffic circle (traffic circles plural )A traffic circle is a circular structure in the road at a place where several roads meet. You drive round it until you come to the road that you want.
(AM) n-count
in BRIT, use roundabout
traffic cone (traffic cones plural )A traffic cone is a plastic object with a pointed top that is placed on a road to prevent people from driving or parking there. n-count
traffic jam (traffic jams plural )A traffic jam is a long line of vehicles that cannot move forward because there is too much traffic, or because the road is blocked by something. n-count
traffic light (traffic lights plural )Traffic lights are sets of red, amber, and green lights at the places where roads meet. They control the traffic by signalling when vehicles have to stop and when they can go. Traffic lights can also be referred to as a traffic light. n-count usu pl
traffic warden (traffic wardens plural )A traffic warden is a person whose job is to make sure that cars are not parked illegally.
(mainly BRIT) n-count
