bottleneck

[bot-l-nek]

noun

1. a narrow entrance or passageway.

2. a place or stage in a process at which progress is impeded.

3. Also called slide guitar. a method of guitar playing that produces a gliding sound by pressing a metal bar or glass tube against the strings.

verb (used with object)

1. to hamper or confine by or as if by a bottleneck.

verb (used without object)

1. to become hindered by or as if by a bottleneck.

bottleneck

/ ˈbɒtəlˌnɛk /

noun

1. 1. a narrow stretch of road or a junction at which traffic is or may be held up

   2. the hold up

2. something that holds up progress, esp of a manufacturing process

3. music

   1. the broken-off neck of a bottle placed over a finger and used to produce a buzzing effect in a style of guitar-playing originally part of the American blues tradition

   2. the style of guitar playing using a bottleneck

verb

1. (tr) to be or cause an obstruction in

bottleneck

1. An abrupt and severe reduction in the number of individuals during the history of a species, resulting in the loss of diversity from the gene pool. The generations following the bottleneck are more genetically homogenous than would otherwise be expected. Bottlenecks often occur in consequence of a catastrophic event.

bottleneck

1. The point at which an industry or economic system has to slow its growth because one or more of its components cannot keep up with demand.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bottleneck¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; bottle ¹ + neck

Example Sentences

“Propellant powder remains a strategic bottleneck within the defense industry,” he said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

To overcome this bottleneck, researchers launched Ocean Species Discoveries, a data-rich publication platform designed for concise, high-quality marine invertebrate species descriptions.

Read more on Science Daily

This leads to big bottlenecks and long waits.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“That may hold true if computing power proves the key bottleneck. But if the real constraint is access to cheap, abundant electricity, China could emerge as a far bigger player than markets now anticipate.”

Read more on Barron's

These include a lack of midstream processing capacity to refine rare-earth oxides and regulatory bottlenecks related to environmental clearances and land acquisition, he says.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• barrier 
• blockage 
• congestion 
• hindrance 
• impediment 
• snag 
• traffic jam