noun · neutral
traffic
/ˈtræfɪk/TRAF·fic
Band 4-5speakingtask1task2
The number of vehicles on roads or the general condition of vehicles moving.
Examples
“I was late because of heavy traffic this morning.”
“Traffic in the city gets worse during rush hour.”
“There is less traffic on Sundays.”
Band 8 sentence
“In many cities, traffic grinds to a standstill during rush hour, largely because road capacity cannot keep up with vehicle growth.”
Collocations
- heavy traffic
- traffic jam
- in traffic
Word family
traffic nountraffic (to traffic) verb (rare)
Common mistakes
There are many traffic on the roads.→There is a lot of traffic on the roads.
I was stuck on traffic.→I was stuck in traffic.
Say it for a higher band
5cars→6traffic jam→7+traffic
Synonyms
congestion
Easily confused
congestion
“The congestion on the motorway caused long delays for commuters.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Transport & Traffic
Learn it with its set