French word

embouteillage

Pronunciation

IPA/ɑ̃butɛjaʒ/

Meaning

  • masculine nountraffic jam

Example

Il y a un embouteillage sur l'autoroute.

There is a traffic jam on the highway.

Illustration for embouteillage (traffic jam)

More examples

Je suis resté coincé dans un embouteillage ce matin.

I was caught in a traffic jam this morning.

Core concept

A stream of cars jammed together on a road, with movement reduced to a crawl.

Common phrases

  • un embouteillage

    a traffic jam

  • coincé dans un embouteillage

    caught in a traffic jam

  • éviter un embouteillage

    avoid a traffic jam

Similar words

bouchon: A road blockage where vehicles are backed up and almost at a standstill.
congestion: Heavy road traffic that makes movement extremely slow.
ralentissement: A reduction in vehicle speed that slows travel.
encombrement: A road obstruction caused by many vehicles or other obstacles.

Definition in French

Situation où la circulation est très ralentie parce qu'un grand nombre de véhicules sont regroupés sur une route.

Word origin

The noun embouteillage comes from embouteiller, 'to bottle', which is based on bouteille, 'bottle', and extends the idea of packing things into a narrow space.

Usage tips

  • French commonly uses être pris dans un embouteillage for 'to be stuck in a traffic jam', while bouchon is a frequent shorter term.

Other meanings

  • bottlingnoun

Opposites

  • fluiditéfluiditynoun

Related words

  • embouteillerjam up trafficverb
  • embouteillégridlockedadjective

Word lists with this word