bottle

¹ American  

[bot-l] / ˈbɒt l /

noun

1. a portable container for holding liquids, characteristically having a neck and mouth and made of glass or plastic.

2. the contents of such a container; as much as such a container contains.

   a bottle of wine.

3. bottled cow's milk, milk formulas, or substitute mixtures given to infants instead of mother's milk.

   raised on the bottle.

4. the bottle, intoxicating beverages; liquor.

   He became addicted to the bottle.

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verb (used with object)

bottles, present (3rd person singular) bottled, past participle, past bottling present participle

1. to put into or seal in a bottle.

   to bottle grape juice.

2. British. to preserve (fruit or vegetables) by heating to a sufficient temperature and then sealing in a jar.

verb phrase

1. bottle up

   1. to repress, control, or restrain.

      He kept all of his anger bottled up inside him.

   2. to enclose or entrap.

      Traffic was bottled up in the tunnel.

idioms

1. hit the bottle, to drink alcohol to excess often or habitually.

bottle ² American  

[bot-l] / ˈbɒt l /

noun

Architecture.

1. boltel.

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bottle ¹ British  

/ ˈbɒtəl /

noun

1. 1. a vessel, often of glass and typically cylindrical with a narrow neck that can be closed with a cap or cork, for containing liquids

   2. ( as modifier )

      a bottle rack

2. Also called: bottleful.  the amount such a vessel will hold

3. 1. a container equipped with a teat that holds a baby's milk or other liquid; nursing bottle

   2. the contents of such a container

      the baby drank his bottle

4. short for magnetic bottle

5. slang nerve; courage (esp in the phrase lose one's bottle )

6. slang money collected by street entertainers or buskers

7. slang well-informed and enthusiastic about something

8. informal drinking of alcohol, esp to excess

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verb

1. to put or place (wine, beer, jam, etc) in a bottle or bottles

2. to store (gas) in a portable container under pressure

3. slang to injure by thrusting a broken bottle into (a person)

4. slang (of a busker) to collect money from the bystanders

bottle ² British  

/ ˈbɒtəl /

noun

1. dialect a bundle, esp of hay

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bottle More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing bottle

• crack a bottle
• hit the bottle

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• well-bottled
  adjective
• bottlelike
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has bottled
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have bottled
  perfect
• is bottling
  progressive 3rd person singular
• are bottling
  progressive
• am bottling
  progressive 1st person singular
• bottles
  singular 3rd person
• has been bottling
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• have been bottling
  perfect progressive
• bottling
  participle

Past

• had bottled
  perfect
• was bottling
  progressive singular
• had been bottling
  perfect progressive
• bottled
  simple
• bottled
  participle
• were bottling
  progressive plural

Future

• will bottle
  simple
• will have bottled
  perfect
• will be bottling
  progressive
• will have been bottling
  perfect progressive

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

Bottle bio: From the North Fork of Long Island, N.Y., it opens with aromas of lime zest, green apple, white peach and sea breeze.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026

Bottle bio: A sophisticated wine made in Maldonado, Uruguay, with what Benjamin described as “layers of ripe peach, Meyer lemon and orange blossom.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026

Centurium Capital recently acquired the U.S. specialty chain Blue Bottle Coffee, which has over 100 locations.

From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026

Bottle collection points opened again on Sunday after taps started running dry for thousands of customers in Kent on 23 May.

From BBC • May 31, 2026

When Libby and I workshopped our two-person Fiddler on the Roof, for the private performance we put on for her mom right when she started getting sick, I decided to stage the famous Bottle Dance.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

Related Words

• glass
• jar
• jug
• urn
• vial