Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1. 
 the path that is prescribed for an airplane that is preparing to land at an airport; 
- Example: "the traffic patterns around O'Hare are very crowded"- Example: "they stayed in the pattern until the fog lifted"[syn: traffic pattern, approach pattern, pattern]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
traffic pattern
    n 1: the path that is prescribed for an airplane that is
         preparing to land at an airport; "the traffic patterns
         around O'Hare are very crowded"; "they stayed in the
         pattern until the fog lifted" [syn: traffic pattern,
         approach pattern, pattern]