the aggregation of things (pedestrians or vehicles) coming and going in a particular locality during a specified period of time
"The city council is planning new lanes to handle the heavy traffic that clogs Main Street every evening after work."
buying and selling; especially illicit trade
"The intelligence agency discovered that the shipping container was being used to hide a massive traffic of stolen electronics across three continents."
the amount of activity over a communication system during a given period of time
"heavy traffic overloaded the trunk lines"
"traffic on the internet is lightest during the night"
Moving pedestrians or vehicles, or the flux or passage thereof.
"The heavy traffic on the highway made it impossible for us to reach the airport before our flight departed."
In plain English: Traffic is the number of cars and other vehicles moving on a road at the same time.
"The heavy traffic made our commute to work much longer than usual."
To pass goods and commodities from one person to another for an equivalent in goods or money; to buy or sell goods
"The local police cracked down on the illegal traffic of counterfeit electronics across the border."
In plain English: To traffic means to illegally buy, sell, or move goods or people for profit.
"Heavy traffic slowed down our commute home this afternoon."
Usage: Use the verb traffic primarily when referring to buying, selling, or transporting illegal goods such as drugs or weapons. Avoid this term for legal commercial transactions where standard verbs like trade or deal are more appropriate and natural.
The word traffic comes from Middle French and Italian terms meaning "trade," which likely entered English through commercial activity. Its roots may trace back to a Latin phrase for rubbing across or an Arabic word for distribution, with the Italian form adapting a common prefix to fit its sound.