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

As cities around the world are increasingly more congested, moving around has become more of a challenge. —Kyle J. Russell, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2025

In 2025, visitors can still access the park at the East Entrance of Going-To-The-Sun Road without a reservation, but entry might be restricted at certain times without advance notice if the road becomes too congested. —Graham Averill, Outside Online, 6 Jan. 2025

Oil has been trading in a tight range this year and broadly congested between $69-$91 per barrel on worries that supplies will exceed demand. —Trefis Team, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024

Even a longer losing streak would stretch across months and avoid the sting attached to loss after loss stacked up in the congested club schedule. —Jeff Rueter, The Athletic, 25 Nov. 2024

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