Definition of snarl-up in English:

noun

• 1British informal A traffic jam.

  ‘a six-lane snarl-up’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Ward councillor Paul Smith said: ‘It is a totally unsuitable development in the wrong place the potential for it to greatly increase traffic will cause snarl-ups in Ipswich Road.’’
  • ‘They are so impressed by the new approach to reducing traffic snarl-ups called personalised journey planning which has had spectacular success in Perth, Western Australia, that they have decided the time is right to try it in York.’
  • ‘The move is an attempt to minimise congestion in the run-up to Christmas and comes in response to the massive traffic snarl-ups in the city caused by the roadworks on the A64 at Top Lane junction, Copmanthorpe.’
  • ‘But sitting on a coach for five or six hours, through motorway snarl-ups and London traffic congestion, would hardly have been the best preparation for a crucial First Division game.’
  • ‘Transport consultants Faber Maunsell were commissioned to tackle Bedford's notorious traffic snarl-ups as part of the borough council's plans to redevelop the town centre.’

  Synonyms

  traffic jam, jam, tailback, line, stream, gridlock

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  1. 1.1A muddle or mistake.
     ‘there's a snarl-up in editing’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Bureaucratic snarl-ups slowed crucial supplies of food and water.’
     Synonyms

     muddle, mess, tangle, jumble, entanglement, imbroglio

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