traffic
traffic Lexical Profile
traffic Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The movement of vehicles, ships, persons, or aircraft along a route or public highway.
"We were stuck in heavy traffic for over an hour on our way to the airport."
The volume of data, messages, or signals passing through a communications system or computer network.
"The website crashed because the server could not handle the sudden spike in web traffic."
The commercial exchange of goods, frequently referring to illegal or illicit trade.
"International law enforcement agencies are working together to combat the drug traffic."
• verb
To deal or trade in something illegal.
"The criminal syndicate was found to be trafficking endangered animal parts across international borders."
To carry on trade or commercial dealings.
"In the nineteenth century, merchants would traffic in exotic spices and silks along the Silk Road."
Word Nuance & Usage
When used as a verb, 'traffic' almost exclusively carries a negative connotation, referring to illegal trade (e.g., drug or human trafficking). Note the orthographic insertion of a 'k' before vowel suffixes (trafficking, trafficked) to preserve the hard 'c' sound.
• Rhymes for traffic
Word Origin & Etymology
Early 16th century: from French 'trafique' (noun) and 'trafiquer' (verb), from Italian 'traffico'. The ultimate origin is uncertain, but it may be based on a combination of Latin 'trans-' (across) and 'facere' (to do or make).
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.