congested

adjective

con·​gest·​ed kən-ˈje-stəd 

1

: extremely or excessively full or crowded

The trains ferried orphaned and abandoned kids from the congested East to new families and new lives in the heartland.

… it must be clear that the continuance is not being granted solely because of the court's congested calendar.

—The National Law Journal

Under the pressure of the weather conditions, congested traffic and wind shear, the crew never was able to stabilize the airplane on the ILS approach into JFK and had to execute a missed approach.

—Patrick R. Veillette

2

medical : containing an excessive accumulation especially of blood or mucus

congested lungs/sinuses

Examples of congested in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In total, 10 U.S. cities ranked among the 25 most congested worldwide. —Addy Bink, The Hill, 18 Jan. 2025

By some measures, New York City's traffic is more congested than it's ever been. —Mo Rocca, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2025

Fleeing down streets that quickly became congested, some residents were forced to abandon their cars as fire trucks headed toward the flames. —Jenny Jarvie, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025

Leaving early also prevents roads from becoming congested, and allows firefighters and other first responders to move in and out of affected areas quickly. —Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 8 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1830, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Medical Definition

congested

adjective

con·​gest·​ed kən-ˈjes-təd 

: containing an excessive accumulation especially of blood or mucus

congested mucous membranes

congested lungs