Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🚗 Slow cars 💻 Slow data
traffic delay

traffic delay

1 2.1
A time when cars and other vehicles move slowly and sometimes stop because of heavy traffic or an accident
  • noun
  • /ˈtræfɪk dɪˈleɪ/
translation icon : retraso de tráfico
  • City officials are warning motorists to prepare for traffic delays as crews work on the highway.
  • expect traffic delays
  • cause traffic delays

Examples

  • Throughout the event day, the radio stations periodically announced that the detours off of Interstate 93 were causing traffic delays of more than 30 minutes.

    Academic text (2016)

  • Then we all suffer from more traffic delays.

    Blog text (23)

  • Be aware of traffic delays and increased pedestrian presence in the potential problem areas listed above.

    Blog text (7)

  • Officials are warning motorists to expect extensive traffic delays.

    Blog text (31)

  • What he actually said was, "We will be marching down Century Boulevard, and it is entirely possible that there will be significant traffic delays."

    Blog text (21)

  • A man fell to his death off a highway bridge in Santee early Tuesday, causing major traffic delays on state Route 52 and surrounding roadways.

    Blog text (7)

  • Construction is expected to cause traffic delays on the main road this weekend.

  • Residents and visitors should expect traffic delays this week due to scheduled road repairs.

Synonyms

delay
vstraffic delay
434 1.3

A time when something happens later than planned

is specifically a period when vehicle movement is slowed or halted by road issues
congestion
vstraffic delay
37 3.4

Too many people or vehicles in one place that slow movement

is specifically a time when vehicle movement is held up by road problems
traffic jam
vstraffic delay
35 1.0

Many cars are stuck and move very slowly on a road

is a period when vehicle movement is slowed or stopped by any road obstruction
gridlock
vstraffic delay
19 4.6

A complete traffic jam that stops vehicles moving in any direction

is a period when movement is reduced or stopped but not always total blockage
traffic nightmare
vstraffic delay
  • Informal
1 4.4

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

is a period of slowed or stopped vehicle movement without the emotional label
tailback
vstraffic delay
  • UK
4.2

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

is the period when overall vehicle movement slows or halts, not only the line

How Long

traffic delay
1 2.1
delay
434 1.3
stoppage
15 4.1

Surface Forms

traffic delay singular
traffic delays plural

Morphology

traffic + delay

The phrase is compositionally built from 'traffic' (flow) + 'delay' (a hold-up), so its basic meaning—a delay affecting some flow—is directly inferable. However, the target sense is technical (network/data transmission latency) and depends on knowing that 'traffic' can mean digital/data flow; without that domain knowledge a B1 learner is likely to interpret it as a road-traffic hold-up. Therefore it is not fully transparent to an average B1 learner.

Etymology

The noun traffic delay comes from the image of cars stuck on a road when an accident or roadwork blocks lanes; traffic is the cars and delay is the time they wait. So it means 'a period when vehicle movement is slowed or stopped'.