traffic

 
Pronunciation: /ˈtrafɪk/

noun

[mass noun]
  • 1vehicles moving on a public highway: a stream of heavy traffic
  • the movement of ships, trains, aircraft, or pedestrians: Europe’s air traffic
  • the transportation of goods or passengers: the increased use of railways for goods traffic
  • 2the messages or signals transmitted through a communications system: data traffic between remote workstations
  • 3the action of dealing or trading in something illegal: the traffic in stolen cattle
  • 4 archaic dealings or communication between people.

verb (traffics, trafficking, trafficked)

[no object]
  • deal or trade in something illegal: the government will vigorously pursue individuals who traffic in drugs

Derivatives

trafficker

noun

trafficless

adjective

Origin:

early 16th century (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 century

Spelling rule

If a verb ends in -ic (as in picnic), add a k after the c when adding -ed, -ing, and -er: (traffics, trafficking, trafficked).