bumper-to-bumper

[ buhm-per-tuh-buhm-per ]

adjective

1. marked by a long line of cars moving slowly or with many stops and starts, one behind the other:

   bumper-to-bumper traffic.

2. Informal. following one another in profusion:

   bumper-to-bumper worries.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bumper-to-bumper¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

I’m on the 405 on my way to pick up my daughter from school, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and again I begin to cry.

From Los Angeles Times

Hundreds of cars, lined bumper-to-bumper as they were directed into an Oxfordshire field, filled with tourists hailing from Newcastle, Essex, the Channel Islands and beyond.

From BBC

Why don’t they make commercials reflecting real-life situations like frazzled drivers crawling along at 5 mph in bumper-to-bumper traffic and paying $25 to park in a garage eight blocks away?

From Seattle Times

Here’s how one driver plans to handle the bumper-to-bumper chaos after years away.

From Los Angeles Times

In New Hampshire, travelers were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic much of the way through about 2 a.m.

From Seattle Times