Phrase guide

traffic light

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈtɹæˌfɪk laɪt/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A signalling device positioned at a road intersection or pedestrian crossing indicating the moment it is safe to drive, ride or walk, using a universal color code.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: stop light, traffic signal, robot, robot policeman

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A signalling device positioned at a road intersection or pedestrian crossing indicating the moment it is safe to drive, ride or walk, using a universal color code.

A road intersection controlled by one or more such devices.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: plural-normally

Examples

  • How do I get to the hospital? ~ You go straight on to the traffic lights, then turn left at the traffic lights and the hospital is on your right.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: stop light, traffic signal, robot, robot policeman

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A colour code using the three signals of a traffic light (green, yellow or amber, and red) as a metaphor.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The Department of Health recommends that food packaging display the recommended daily intake with a traffic light system, for ease of understanding.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: lights, signals

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The colored dots on stamp sheet margins printed with offset printing or photogravure methods, used by the printers to check color accuracy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: hobbies, lifestyle, philately

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

In Conway's Game of Life, an arrangement of four blinkers that are orthogonally equidistant from a central point.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: cellular-automata, computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

a visual signal to control the flow of traffic at intersections

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: traffic signal, stoplight

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: light

Narrower terms: green light, go-ahead, red light, yellow light

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

160 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: robot — signalling device
  • Afrikaans: verkeerslig — signalling device
  • Albanian: semafor — signalling device
  • Arabic: إِشَارَة مُرُور — signalling device
  • Arabic: إِشَارَة ضَوْئِيَّة — signalling device
  • Arabic: إِشَارَة (ʔišāra) — signalling device
  • Arabic: ضو احمر (ḍaww eḥmar) — signalling device
  • Arabic: إِشَارَة مُرُور (ʔišāret murūr) — signalling device
  • Arabic: إِشَارَة مُرُور (ʔišāret murūr) — signalling device
  • Arabic: إشارة (ʔišāra) — signalling device
  • Arabic: ضوّ (ḍaww) — signalling device
  • Arabic: رمزور (ramzōr) — signalling device
  • Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܢܝܼܫܲܢܩܵܐ ܕܡܲܪܕܝܼܬܵܐ (nīšānqa d-mārdīta) — signalling device
  • Armenian: լուսացույց (lusacʻuycʻ) — signalling device
  • Asturian: semáforu — signalling device
  • Azerbaijani: işıqfor — signalling device
  • Azerbaijani: yol işığı — signalling device
  • Bashkir: светофор (svetofor) — signalling device
  • Basque: semaforo — signalling device
  • Belarusian: святлафо́р (svjatlafór) — signalling device
  • Bengali: সিগনাল (śigonal) — signalling device
  • Bulgarian: светофа́р (svetofár) — signalling device
  • Burmese: မီးပွိုင့် (mi:pwuing.) — signalling device
  • Carpathian Rusyn: семафо́р (semafór) — signalling device
  • Catalan: semàfor — signalling device
  • Chinese Cantonese: 紅綠燈 /红绿灯 — signalling device
  • Chinese Cantonese: 交通燈 /交通灯 — signalling device
  • Eastern Min Chinese: 紅綠燈 /红绿灯 (è̤ng-liŏh-dĕng) — signalling device
  • Hakka Chinese: 紅青燈 /红青灯 (fùng-chhiâng-tên) — signalling device
  • Hakka Chinese: 紅綠燈 /红绿灯 (fùng-liu̍k-tên) — signalling device
  • Chinese: 青紅燈 /青红灯 (zh-min-nan) — signalling device
  • Chinese: 紅青燈 /红青灯 (âng-chhen-teng) — signalling device
  • Chinese Mandarin: 紅綠燈 /红绿灯 (hónglǜdēng) — signalling device
  • Chinese Mandarin: 信號燈 /信号灯 (xìnhàodēng) — signalling device
  • Chinese Mandarin: 紅青燈 /红青灯 (hóngqīngdēng) — signalling device
  • Wu Chinese: 紅綠燈 /红绿灯 — signalling device
  • Czech: semafor — signalling device
  • Czech: světelné signalizační zařízení — signalling device
  • Danish: lyssignal — signalling device
  • Danish: lyskurv — signalling device
  • Danish: trafiklys — signalling device
  • Dutch: verkeerslicht — signalling device
  • Dutch: stoplicht — signalling device
  • Elfdalian: trafikliuos — signalling device
  • Esperanto: trafiklumoj — signalling device
  • Esperanto: semaforo — signalling device
  • Estonian: valgusfoor — signalling device
  • Faroese: ferðsluljós — signalling device
  • Finnish: liikennevalot — signalling device
  • French: feu — signalling device
  • French: feu de circulation — signalling device
  • French: feu de signalisation — signalling device
  • French: feu tricolore — signalling device
  • North Frisian: ferkiarlaacht — signalling device
  • North Frisian: Ferkearleäch — signalling device
  • North Frisian: Forkiirsleecht — signalling device
  • West-Frisian: ferkearsljocht — signalling device
  • Fula: 𞤨𞤮𞥅𞤴𞤫 𞤤𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮𞤤 — signalling device
  • Fula: pooye laawol — signalling device
  • Galician: semáforo — signalling device
  • Georgian: შუქნიშანი (šuknišani) — signalling device
  • German: Ampel — signalling device
  • German: Verkehrsampel — signalling device
  • German: Robot — signalling device
  • German: Signallicht — signalling device
  • Greek: φανάρι (fanári) — signalling device
  • Hebrew: רַמְזוֹר (ramzór) — signalling device
  • Hindi: यातायात बत्ती (yātāyāt battī) — signalling device
  • Hindi: ट्रैफ़िक लाइट (ṭraifik lāiṭ) — signalling device
  • Hindi: ट्रैफ़िक सिग्नल (ṭraifik signal) — signalling device
  • Hindi: रोबोट (roboṭ) — signalling device
  • Hungarian: jelzőlámpa — signalling device
  • Hungarian: közlekedési lámpa — signalling device
  • Hungarian: stoplámpa — signalling device
  • Icelandic: umferðarljós — signalling device
  • Indonesian: lampu lalu lintas — signalling device
  • Indonesian: lampu merah — signalling device
  • Indonesian: alat pemberi isyarat lalu lintas — signalling device
  • Irish: solas tráchta — signalling device
  • Italian: semaforo — signalling device
  • Japanese: 交通信号 (kōtsū shingō) — signalling device
  • Japanese: 信号 (shingō) — signalling device
  • Japanese: ゴーストップ (gōsutoppu) — signalling device
  • Japanese: 信号機 (shingōki) — signalling device
  • Kazakh: бағдаршам (bağdarşam) — signalling device
  • Khmer: ពន្លឺចរាចរណ៍ (pɔɔnlɨɨ cɑɑraacɑɑ) — signalling device
  • Korean: 신호등 (sinhodeung) — signalling device
  • Northern Kurdish: trafoyê — signalling device
  • Northern Kurdish: lembaya trafîkê — signalling device
  • Kyrgyz: белгишам (belgişam) — signalling device
  • Kyrgyz: светофор (svetofor) — signalling device
  • Ladino: luzes de tráfiko — signalling device
  • Ladino: lampas de trafik — signalling device
  • Lao: ໄຟສັນຍານຈໍລະຈອນ (fai san nyān chǭ la chǭn) — signalling device
  • Lao: ໄຟຈະລາຈອນ (fai cha lā chǭn) — signalling device
  • Latin: sēmaphorum — signalling device
  • Latvian: luksofors — signalling device
  • Latvian: svetofors — signalling device
  • Lithuanian: šviesoforas — signalling device
  • Macedonian: семафо́р (semafór) — signalling device
  • Malay: lampu isyarat — signalling device
  • Malay: lampu trafik — signalling device
  • Maltese: dawl tat-traffiku — signalling device
  • Mongolian: замын гэрэл (zamyn gerel) — signalling device
  • Mongolian: дохионы гэрэл (doxiony gerel) — signalling device
  • Mongolian: гэрлэн дохио (gerlen doxio) — signalling device
  • Norman: veue d'trafi — signalling device
  • Norwegian Bokmål: trafikklys — signalling device
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: trafikklys — signalling device
  • Pannonian Rusyn: семафор (semafor) — signalling device
  • Pashto: ترافیکي څراغونه — signalling device
  • Iranian Persian: چِراغِ راهْنَمایی (čerâġ-e râhnamâyi) — signalling device
  • Polish: światło sygnalizacyjne — signalling device
  • Polish: sygnalizator świetlny — signalling device
  • Polish: sygnalizacja — signalling device
  • Polish: światła drogowe — signalling device
  • Portuguese: semáforo — signalling device
  • Portuguese: sinal de trânsito — signalling device
  • Portuguese: sinal — signalling device
  • Portuguese: farol — signalling device
  • Portuguese: (Florianópolis) sinaleira — signalling device
  • Romanian: semafor — signalling device
  • Russian: светофо́р (svetofór) — signalling device
  • Serbo-Croatian: се̏мафо̄р — signalling device
  • Serbo-Croatian: светлоказ — signalling device
  • Serbo-Croatian: sȅmafōr — signalling device
  • Serbo-Croatian: svetlokaz — signalling device
  • Slovak: semafor — signalling device
  • Slovene: semafor — signalling device
  • Southern Altai: светофор (svetofor) — signalling device
  • Spanish: semáforo — signalling device
  • Swedish: trafikljus — signalling device
  • Swedish: trafiksignal — signalling device
  • Tagalog: ilaw-trapiko — signalling device
  • Tajik: чароғи раҳнамо (čaroġ-i rahnamo) — signalling device
  • Tajik: светофор (svetofor) — signalling device
  • Tajik: чароғак (čaroġak) — signalling device
  • Tamil: குறிகை விளக்கு (kuṟikai viḷakku) — signalling device
  • Thai: สัญญาณไฟจราจร (sǎn-yaan-fai-jà-raa-jɔɔn) — signalling device
  • Thai: ไฟจราจร (fai-jà-raa-jɔɔn) — signalling device
  • Turkish: trafik ışığı — signalling device
  • Turkmen: swetofor — signalling device
  • Turkmen: ýolyşyk — signalling device
  • Ukrainian: світлофо́р (svitlofór) — signalling device
  • Urdu: ٹْرَیفِک لائِٹْس (ṭraifik lāiṭs) — signalling device
  • Urdu: ٹْرَیفِک لائِٹ (ṭraifik lāiṭ) — signalling device
  • Urdu: ٹْرَیفِک سِگْنَل (ṭraifik signal) — signalling device
  • Uyghur: قاتناش چىرىغى (qatnash chirighi) — signalling device
  • Uyghur: قاتناش سىگنالى (qatnash signali) — signalling device
  • Uyghur: قىزىل-يېشىل چىراغ (qizil-yëshil chiragh) — signalling device
  • Uzbek: svetofor — signalling device
  • Venetan: semàfero — signalling device
  • Vietnamese: đèn giao thông — signalling device
  • Vietnamese: đèn hiệu — signalling device
  • Vietnamese: đèn hiệu giao thông — signalling device
  • Vietnamese: đèn xanh đèn đỏ — signalling device
  • Vietnamese: đèn xanh đỏ — signalling device
  • Welsh: goleuad traffig — signalling device
  • Welsh: goleuadau — signalling device
  • Yiddish: פֿאָרסיגנאַל (forsignal) — signalling device