bottle up

British  

verb

1. to restrain (powerful emotion)

2. to keep (an army or other force) contained or trapped

   the French fleet was bottled up in Le Havre

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bottle up Idioms  

1. Repress, contain, hold back; also, confine or trap. For example, The psychiatrist said Eve had been bottling up her anger for years, or The accident bottled up traffic for miles. This idiom likens other kinds of restraint to liquid being contained in a bottle. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

But nearly two years later, water started to ooze from a different well in the same area, a sign that bottling up the geyser likely repressurized the subsurface and triggered the new outburst, scientists said.

From The Wall Street Journal

So the establishment decided to bottle up the flavours of its "fermentation lab" and "test kitchen".

From Barron's

She said she "bottled up" her feelings for years and only reached out for help from the NHS when she was 20.

From BBC

Those worries can quickly spiral when kept bottled up so sharing your concerns with someone you trust lightens the load and gives perspective, even if they can't solve the problem for you.

From BBC

To be demoted the way that she was — there’s a certain amount of bottling up that comes with that.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• repress
• suppress