# trafficking

Pronunciation: say "TRAF-ik-ing" /ˈtɹæfɪkɪŋ/

## Noun

1. The buying, selling, or exchange of goods carried out illegally.
   - Simple: Buying and selling goods in a way that breaks the law.
   - _Investigators traced the trafficking of counterfeit electronics to a single warehouse._
   - _The treaty aims to curb the trafficking of cultural artifacts across borders._
4. In biology, the transport of an enzyme or other protein to its destination, within a cell or through the surrounding tissue.
   - Simple: The movement of a protein through living tissue.
   - _The study examined the trafficking of the enzyme across muscle tissue._
   - _Abnormal trafficking of the protein led to a buildup in the surrounding tissue._

## Verb

2. Present participle and gerund of traffic. — present participle and gerund of traffic
   - Simple: The -ing form of traffic. Use it after am, is, are, was or were, or to name the action.
   - _Authorities charged the men with trafficking endangered birds._
   - _The cartel had been trafficking weapons for nearly a decade._
3. Present participle and gerund of traffick. — present participle and gerund of traffick
   - Simple: The -ing form of traffick. Use it after am, is, are, was or were, or to name the action.
   - _The old records describe sailors trafficking in exotic wares._
   - _They had been trafficking across the channel for many seasons._

## Origin

Formed from "traffic" combined with the suffix "-ing".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/trafficking (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).