bottleneck 1 of 3

noun

Definition of bottlenecknext
as in jam
a crowded mass (as of cars) that impedes or blocks movement a bottleneck inevitably forms at the start of a construction zone when the highway narrows from three to two lanes

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

bottleneck

2 of 3

adjective

as in linear

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

bottleneck

3 of 3

verb

as in to dam

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bottleneck
Noun
In ancient legend, 300 Spartan warriors held the narrow pass at Thermopylae against a vast, overwhelming force, relying on a critical bottleneck to offset impossible odds. — Siddharth Misra, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026 Analysts said memory remains a key bottleneck and maintained their buy ratings. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 25 Aug. 2026
Verb
The demand for slots skyrocketed and the auction prices ballooned in recent weeks as a standoff between the Iran and the United States over access to the strait kept traffic bottlenecked. — Alma Solís, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2026 Yet, sparse computations on the CPU are often bottlenecked by the indirect lookups used to find nonzero data. — Olivia Hsu, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bottleneck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bottleneck
  1. jam
  2. linear
  3. dam
  4. congestion
  5. compressed
  6. clog
  7. tight
  8. hinder
Noun
  • Padres closer Mason Miller allowed two baserunners and barely escaped a ninth-inning jam while facing his hometown team on his 28th birthday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • As on the age-old original, the first half of the six-minute track was sweeping in its use of orchestral augmentation, and then the second half put aside both strings and vocals to turn into a pure band jam.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of jam
Adjective
  • The linear arrangement of bases in the DNA gets directly translated into the linear sequence of amino acids that make up a protein.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Netflix has separated itself from the rest of the streaming- and linear-television pack in Nason’s and Gasparo’s genre of choice.
    — Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of linear
Verb
  • Creek bottoms, especially those dammed by beavers, often are good wallow locations.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The drug boat campaign is the equivalent of trying to dam a river with a sheet of plywood.
    — Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of dam
Noun
  • Drivers could experience traffic congestion and delays this week in Caldwell following a water main leak that requires emergency repairs.
    — Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 25 Aug. 2026
  • When residential development started just south of this commercial corridor, concerns about traffic congestion became a reality.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of congestion
Adjective
  • The difference likely is multifold and surely part of a cumulative effect of compressed offseasons after playing 21 postseason games in the previous seven seasons.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The special primary, which took place just a month after Lindsey Graham's death, meant a compressed and sometimes chaotic campaign for the 10 candidates who ran to replace him.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of compressed
Verb
  • Kaolin and bentonite team up with colloidal clay to soak up excess sebum and sweep away pore-clogging buildup, while corn mint powder lends a little extra oil-absorbing power.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The chips leader doesn’t believe that frequent catch-ups with his 55 direct reports are the best use of his time, given that a continuous stream of meetings would only clog up his work schedule and slow him down.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of clog
Adjective
  • Local institutions — already facing shortages of foreign currency and tight liquidity — must raise capital to finance such a sale, but MTN expects the transaction to close by year-end.
    — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Graham Nordone and Norman are locked in a tight contest, according to polls.
    — Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of tight
Verb
  • That means making choices that support fertility, not hinder it — like getting regular exercise or cutting out cannabis, nicotine and alcohol.
    — Andee Tagle, NPR, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Dodson and Rodriguez had been competing for the starting spot opposite Brooks, but injuries to that unit had watered down the competition and hindered the evaluation process.
    — Omar Kelly August 26, Miami Herald, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of hinder

Browse Nearby Words

bottle-feeds
bottleneck
bottlenecked
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bottleneck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bottleneck. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of kith

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All