bottle
1 Americannoun
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a portable container for holding liquids, characteristically having a neck and mouth and made of glass or plastic.
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the contents of such a container; as much as such a container contains.
a bottle of wine.
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bottled cow's milk, milk formulas, or substitute mixtures given to infants instead of mother's milk.
raised on the bottle.
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the bottle, intoxicating beverages; liquor.
He became addicted to the bottle.
verb (used with object)
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bottles,
present (3rd person singular)
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bottled,
past participle, past
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bottling
present participle
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to put into or seal in a bottle.
to bottle grape juice.
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British. to preserve (fruit or vegetables) by heating to a sufficient temperature and then sealing in a jar.
verb phrase
idioms
noun
noun
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a vessel, often of glass and typically cylindrical with a narrow neck that can be closed with a cap or cork, for containing liquids
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( as modifier )
a bottle rack
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Also called: bottleful. the amount such a vessel will hold
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a container equipped with a teat that holds a baby's milk or other liquid; nursing bottle
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the contents of such a container
the baby drank his bottle
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short for magnetic bottle
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slang nerve; courage (esp in the phrase lose one's bottle )
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slang money collected by street entertainers or buskers
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slang well-informed and enthusiastic about something
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informal drinking of alcohol, esp to excess
verb
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to put or place (wine, beer, jam, etc) in a bottle or bottles
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to store (gas) in a portable container under pressure
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slang to injure by thrusting a broken bottle into (a person)
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slang (of a busker) to collect money from the bystanders
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bottlesimple
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bottlessimple
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have bottledperfect
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has bottledperfect
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am bottlingprogressive
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are bottlingprogressive
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is bottlingprogressive
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have been bottlingperfect progressive
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has been bottlingperfect progressive
Past
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bottledsimple
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had bottledperfect
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was bottlingprogressive
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were bottlingprogressive
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had been bottlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bottle
1325–75; Middle English botel < Anglo-French; Old French bo ( u ) teille < Medieval Latin butticula, equivalent to Late Latin butti ( s ) butt 4 + -cula -cule 1
Explanation
A bottle is a container, often made of glass, that gets narrower toward the top. You can choose to buy soda in cans or bottles. Some people drink chocolate milk from a bottle, and others prefer to sip a bottle of beer. Babies drink from a bottle that's made of glass or plastic and topped with a nipple. To bottle something is to put or store it — usually a liquid or a gas — in bottles. Colloquially, someone "hits the bottle" when they drink too much alcohol. And if you keep your feelings to yourself, you can say you tend to "bottle things up."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The court heard that in April 2025 Nigel Farage's partner found that damage had been caused to their main front door at their house and a bottle of lighter fluid was found in the porch.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
A fan appeared to throw a water bottle at the glass window, while others yelled and displayed their own middle fingers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
The Señora offers Macaria a gift—a bottle containing her tears, which can revive the dying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
I listened to that thing over and over again, until I spilled a bottle of soap in my tape deck and ruined it.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
Under an oak tree, you take a long drink from your water bottle, its overlapping stickers bumpy under your sweaty palms.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
From cardboard boxes to water bottles, recycled materials power American manufacturing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Many bottles of wine from vintages in 2023 and 2024—years that had bumper crops—sit unsold at wineries across California.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Once a magician, Imam now makes a living collecting bottles and recyclables from Delhi's streets.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
He’s also brought cookies and bottles of water to houses to liven things up.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
There were several champagne bottles in the room, I suppose for the refreshment of Morton—and as I entered the room a cork popped with a dreadful noise, and I made for the door terrified.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
In 2024, the Columbia team showed that the amount of microplastics in commercially-available bottled drinking water was 10 to 100 times greater than previously believed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
So, perhaps the biggest lesson here is that recovery cannot be bottled and sold.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Some inmates at two halls in Barlinnie in Glasgow first experienced problems on Thursday night and had no access to bottled water.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Sporting a futuristic leather-textured suit, Lady Gaga can be seen working behind the counter, offering fried chicken to customers and restocking bottled tea in the video clip released on Friday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Hawkers descended on our car, pushing boiled eggs, roasted cashew nuts, bottled water, bread, okpa, agidi into every window of the car, chanting: “Buy from me, oh, I will sell well to you.”
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This ageworthy bottling delivers big acidity, with notes of lime zest, white blossom, tangerine and grilled lemon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Last year, Diageo drew flak in Canada for closing a bottling facility for Crown Royal in Ontario.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
It’s distilled and matured in the Canadian province of Manitoba, but then shipped in large containers to bottling facilities in the U.S. for distribution to American customers.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
Sales growth was driven by a 4% increase in its sales of concentrate, which it sells to bottling partners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
I spent my summers bottling peaches and my winters rotating supplies.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
