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Glite Dictionary
snarl-up

snarl-up

7.2
A traffic jam where cars block each other and cannot move
  • noun
  • /ˈsnɑːrl ʌp/
  • UK
translation icon : embotellamiento
  • The snarl-up on the highway caused everyone to be late for work.

Examples

  • We were stuck in a snarl-up for over an hour due to an accident.

  • There's obviously... some snarl-up at her end, I think.

    In the Loop (2009)

  • We've got traffic snarl-ups because the electricity is now out... ... to almost every part of Manhattan.

    The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

  • Being a Thursday, there was more chance of getting caught up in a traffic snarl-up with delivery vans along Combe Martin's narrow main street.

    Blog text (27)

  • During rush hour, a snarl-up can make the drive home take twice as long.

Synonyms

congestion
vssnarl-up
37 3.4

Too many people or vehicles in one place that slow movement

is specific to vehicles blocking each other on roads rather than general overcrowding
traffic jam
vssnarl-up
35 1.0

Many cars are stuck and move very slowly on a road

is about vehicles blocking each other and stopping normal movement
gridlock
vssnarl-up
19 4.6

A complete traffic jam that stops vehicles moving in any direction

is less extreme and may still allow some movement
pileup
vssnarl-up
7 4.2

Many things, like cars or papers, gather in one place and cause delay

is about general traffic blockage rather than one concentrated crash causing buildup
traffic nightmare
vssnarl-up
  • Informal
1 4.4

A time when many cars move very slowly and cause long delays

is a neutral description of blocked movement without strong emotional tone

Antonyms

to flow
259 1.6

To move smoothly and continuously, like people or traffic

How Blocked

gridlock
19 4.6
snarl-up
  • UK
7.2
traffic jam
35 1.0

Surface Forms

snarl-up singular
snarl-ups plural

Morphology

snarl-up = snarl + up (semi-transparent) = snarl + up

The phrase 'snarl up' suggests becoming tangled or blocked, but the fixed noun sense 'traffic jam' is only partly predictable from the components.

Etymology

The word snarl-up comes from the word snarl, which means a 'tangle' or knot, like tangled hair or rope. Imagine cars all knotted together — that is a snarl-up, a traffic jam.