Congestion
//kənˈd͡ʒɛs.t͡ʃən// noun
noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The hindrance or blockage of the passage of something, for example a fluid, mixture, traffic, people, etc. (due to an excess of this or due to a partial or complete obstruction), resulting in overfilling or overcrowding.; An accumulation or buildup, the act of gathering into a heap or mass. countable, uncountable
"network congestion"
- 2 excessive crowding wordnet
- 3 The hindrance or blockage of the passage of something, for example a fluid, mixture, traffic, people, etc. (due to an excess of this or due to a partial or complete obstruction), resulting in overfilling or overcrowding.; Blocking up of the capillary and other blood vessels, etc., in any locality or organ (often producing other morbid symptoms); local hypermic, active or passive. countable, uncountable
"arterial congestion"
- 4 excessive accumulation of blood or other fluid in a body part wordnet
- 5 An excess or accumulation of something.; An excess of traffic; usually not a complete standstill of traffic, so usually not synonymous with traffic jam. countable, uncountable
"traffic congestion"
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- 6 An excess or accumulation of something.; An excess of mucus or fluid in the respiratory system; congestion of the lungs, or nasal congestion. countable, uncountable
- 7 An excess or accumulation of something.; Edema, water retention, swelling, enlargement of a body part because of fluid retention in tissues and vessels. countable, uncountable
Example
More examples"We were delayed by traffic congestion, so we had to hurry."
Etymology
From late Middle English congestioun, from Old French [Term?], from Latin congestĭō (“heap, accumulation”), from congerō (“to bring together, accumulate, heap up”), formed by the root gerō (“to carry”) and the prefix con-.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.