Bufferbloat describes excessive delay caused by large queues filling in a network device or connection. A transfer may continue moving substantial data while interactive traffic waits behind queued packets. Appropriate queue management can help in supported equipment, but the term should be used for a measured or well-supported queueing problem rather than every case of slow playback.
A practical example
A large household upload can make web actions or calls feel delayed even while the connection remains busy transferring data. Comparing latency with and without that upload can reveal a queueing symptom that a headline download result alone misses.
A common misunderstanding
Do not respond by increasing every available buffer. Network queues and a player's media buffer serve different purposes, and adding queueing delay can make interactive use worse.
Related terms
Stable technical definition. Editorial approach