🏈 Football runner 🚗 Traffic jam

tailback

4.2

A long line of vehicles stopped or moving very slowly on a road

noun
/ˈteɪlˌbæk/

: atasco

There's a hold-up on Hollywood boulevard at western where a traffic accident has tailbacks for half a mile.

Examples

He's a tailback.

The Paper (1994)
A long tailback formed on the highway due to the unexpected roadwork.
Two minor accidents have caused a massive tailback along the flyover that crosses the entrance tunnel to the airport.

Fiction book (1996)
The traffic report warned of a tailback stretching several miles after the accident.
During rush hour, the tailback often extends for blocks around the city center.

Synonyms

traffic jam

vstailback

35 1.0

Many cars are stuck and move very slowly on a road

describes a long continuous line of stopped or slowly moving vehicles

backup

vstailback

12 3.5

A blockage that stops things moving, for example a traffic jam

refers specifically to a long line of slow or stopped vehicles

traffic delay

vstailback

1 2.1

A time when cars and other vehicles move slowly and sometimes stop because of heavy traffic or an accident

describes the physical line of slow or stopped vehicles rather than time

How Long

gridlock

19 4.6

tailback

4.2

backup

12 3.5

slow lane

1 2.7

Surface Forms

tailback singular

tailbacks plural

Morphology

tailback = tail + back (transparent) = tail + back

A straightforward compound where 'tail' + 'back' denotes the rear part of a line, readily leading to the meaning of a long line of vehicles.

Etymology

Tailback uses tail and back to paint a picture of a long 'tail' of vehicles stretching backward along the road. That's why a tailback means a long line of slow or stopped traffic.