Very crowded and slow-moving, particularly with regard to motor vehicle traffic.
Used in a Sentence
bumper-to-bumper
Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for bumper-to-bumper.
Editorial note
The safest is no cars at all, or cars in bumper-to-bumper traffic slugging along in 15 km/h bursts.
Examples12
Definitions2
Parts of speech1
Quick take
Very crowded and slow-moving, particularly with regard to motor vehicle traffic.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of bumper-to-bumper gathered in one view.
(of a vehicle warranty) Comprehensive; covering all components.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for bumper-to-bumper.
adjective
Very crowded and slow-moving, particularly with regard to motor vehicle traffic.
adjective
(of a vehicle warranty) Comprehensive; covering all components.
Example sentences
The safest is no cars at all, or cars in bumper-to-bumper traffic slugging along in 15 km/h bursts.
Add brake ripples and slow reaction time when moving in bumper-to-bumper, and the reduced overall speed should be obvious.
Hospitals are located in cities, not in office-parks at the end of an hour-long commute in bumper-to-bumper sprawl traffic.
On 128/90/495 in MA we drove bumper-to-bumper at 70mph and got where we were going.
The freeway nearest me is bumper-to-bumper stop and go across 5 lanes of traffic, for 3 hours in the morning and for 3 hours in the evening.
Every day it's bumper-to-bumper traffic from Walnut Creek->San Jose.
The main reason is that people tend to get lazy in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and when cars start flowing there is inevitably one who is looking at his phone or just slow to react.
(You can't drive 80 miles per hour bumper-to-bumper.) So if density is say, 50% (one carlength of open space per one car), you have to drive a speed such that a carlength is 1-2s, in other words 10-20mph.
If you drive Los Angeles freeways you'll be hitting the breaks a lot for random people who cut you off in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but the data will only show you stomping on the breaks all the time and the insurance company might conclude you're a bad driver because you're not paying attention.
> If you drive Los Angeles freeways you'll be hitting the breaks a lot for random people who cut you off in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but the data will only show you stomping on the breaks all the time and the insurance company might conclude you're a bad driver because you're not paying attention.
Quote examples
So rather than sit bumper-to-bumper, I will open a car-sized space ahead of me, and intentionally allow "line jumper" cars to enter it.
If the other car was under heavy braking, it's front-end dips down and instead of a bumper-to-bumper collision, you have the rear-ending car go "under" the back of the front car.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use bumper-to-bumper in a sentence?
The safest is no cars at all, or cars in bumper-to-bumper traffic slugging along in 15 km/h bursts.
What does bumper-to-bumper mean?
Very crowded and slow-moving, particularly with regard to motor vehicle traffic.
What part of speech is bumper-to-bumper?
bumper-to-bumper is commonly used as adjective.