bottleneck

American  

[bot-l-nek] / ˈbɒt lˌnɛk /

noun

• bottlenecks
  plural

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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verb

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

bottleneck Scientific  

/ bŏt′l-nĕk′ /

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.

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bottleneck Cultural  

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.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bottlenecks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of bottleneck

First recorded in 1895–1900; bottle ¹ + neck

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Explanation

A bottleneck is a type of traffic jam, when cars get stuck or slowed down in a narrow part of the roadway. You might leave work two hours later than usual to avoid a bottleneck. Anything that gets stalled in a narrow area, whether it's auto traffic or pedestrians, can be called a bottleneck. Information can also get stuck in a kind of bottleneck, if the system itself creates a delay. The term comes from the shape of an actual bottleneck, or the narrow neck or mouth of a bottle.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bottleneck bottlenecks

As analysts aggressively upgraded their earnings forecasts, hot tech stocks and other names tied to the AI bottleneck trade struggled to keep up.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

In 2016, CEO Niraj Shah asked her to become the chief people officer, or CPO, to oversee talent acquisition globally—especially technical talent—since that was the company’s primary growth bottleneck, she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

The biggest bottleneck to the global trade of energy is no longer crude oil, according to the head of Kuwait’s state oil company.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

A critical bottleneck in data centers is creating a massive runway for networking stocks like Celestica, according to Bernstein.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

This bottleneck compacts the waves and gives them even more force.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

Data-center construction will, at the very least, become more expensive and complicated so the bottlenecks trade in power and chips has more question marks placed beside it, said the research firm’s report.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

That creates real risks with predictable consequences: knowledge concentrated among too few people, decision-making bottlenecks, diminished bench strength, and an organization increasingly vulnerable to the absence or departure of a few individuals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

While they said that the gap is “real” and a constraint to the buildout, they added that “many investors” are taking the view that companies will find creative ways around the bottlenecks.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

Junctions on the M4 in Newport could close, and a new bridge built across the Menai Strait, as part of Welsh government plans for two notorious transport bottlenecks.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

The sabotage targets had been carefully selected to pinpoint areas that, when attacked, would create bottlenecks in the American war industry.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

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Related Words

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

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