traffic
- 01 A1 Beginner
n.the cars, trucks, and buses using a road at a particular time.
n.the movement of vehicles or pedestrians along a public highway or transport route. Uncountable in this sense.
Simple“I was late for work because the traffic was very heavy this morning.”
In context“Commuters faced significant delays as the morning traffic slowed to a crawl following a minor collision on the main arterial road.”
UsageAlways used with a singular verb.
PitfallThere were many traffics on the bridge. There was a lot of traffic on the bridge.Traffic is an uncountable noun and does not have a plural form when referring to vehicles.
Synonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the amount of data or the number of people visiting a website.
n.the volume of data, messages, or visitors moving through a computer network or website.
Simple“The website crashed because it received too much traffic after the advertisement.”
In context“Network administrators monitored the sudden spike in web traffic to ensure the servers could handle the increased load during the product launch.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the secret and illegal buying and selling of goods, like drugs or weapons.
n.the illicit exchange or commercial trade of prohibited goods or services.
Simple“The government is trying to stop the illegal traffic of rare animals.”
In context“International agencies collaborated to dismantle the network responsible for the illicit traffic of stolen antiquities across the border.”
SynonymsAntonymslegal trade - 04 C1 Advanced
v.to buy or sell something illegally.
v.to engage in the illicit exchange of goods or people. Transitive when followed by an object.
Simple“The gang was caught trying to traffic prohibited goods into the country.”
In context“The defendant was charged with conspiracy to traffic controlled substances across state lines over a three-year period.”
UsageOften used in the form 'trafficking'. Note the 'k' added in the present participle and past tense.
- 05 B1 Intermediate
adj.used to describe a road that is full of cars and moving slowly.
adj.describing a state of heavy congestion or blocked movement on a roadway.
Simple“We should leave early because the highway is always very traffic at this hour.”
In context“The driver warned us that the downtown area becomes incredibly traffic during the festival weekend.”
Teacher's tipThis adjectival use is specific to Philippine English; in most other dialects, speakers say 'the traffic is heavy' rather than 'the road is traffic'.
From Middle French trafique, traffique (“traffic”), from Italian traffico (“traffic”) from trafficare (“to carry on trade”). Potentially from Vulgar Latin *trānsfrīcāre (“to rub across”); Klein instead suggests the Italian has ultimate origin in Arabic تَفْرِيق (tafrīq, “distribution, dispersion”), reshaped to match the native prefix tra- (“trans-”). The adjectival sense is possibly influenced by Tagalog trapik and follows a general trend in Philippine English to construct a noun from an adjective.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.