bottle up
phrasal verb
bottled up; bottling up; bottles up
: to keep (a feeling or emotion) inside instead of expressing it : to hide (a feeling or emotion)
She's kept her feelings about the accident bottled up for too long.
I know he's angry, but he bottles it up inside instead of talking to someone about it.
Examples of bottle up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But the other conferences declined, bottling up an issue that eventually exploded.
—
Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024
Once rarely used, the filibuster has become a routine part of Senate life and has kept significant legislation bottled up.
—Carl Hulse, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
Toughness in other ways The lack of penalty minutes doesn’t mean UND has been easy to play against.
UND has bottled up opponents throughout the year.
—Brad Elliott Schlossman, Twin Cities, 2 Feb. 2024
The second-year standout has run for 186 yards and two scores in wins over Miami and Buffalo, and his success between the tackles has opened up a downfield passing game that has been bottled up all season.
—Noah Trister, Chicago Tribune, 28 Jan. 2024
Wrap this little bottle up in a pretty gift bag on its own, or consider including a bottle of peppermint extract.
—Molly Allen, Southern Living, 7 Dec. 2023
Their perimeter defense was passive and their ball movement was bottled up by the active Trojans.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024
From my view, the collective energy emerging promises a Cambrian explosion of creative tools once bottled up in private; companies just need to embrace the collaborative ethos fueling it all.
—Runde 'perseus' Yang, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
Durham Smythe is competent and reliable, but a big, skilled receiving tight end would have helped when Hill and Waddle were bottled up.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2024
Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024
Once rarely used, the filibuster has become a routine part of Senate life and has kept significant legislation bottled up.
—Carl Hulse, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
Toughness in other ways The lack of penalty minutes doesn’t mean UND has been easy to play against.
UND has bottled up opponents throughout the year.
—Brad Elliott Schlossman, Twin Cities, 2 Feb. 2024
The second-year standout has run for 186 yards and two scores in wins over Miami and Buffalo, and his success between the tackles has opened up a downfield passing game that has been bottled up all season.
—Noah Trister, Chicago Tribune, 28 Jan. 2024
Wrap this little bottle up in a pretty gift bag on its own, or consider including a bottle of peppermint extract.
—Molly Allen, Southern Living, 7 Dec. 2023
Their perimeter defense was passive and their ball movement was bottled up by the active Trojans.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024
From my view, the collective energy emerging promises a Cambrian explosion of creative tools once bottled up in private; companies just need to embrace the collaborative ethos fueling it all.
—Runde 'perseus' Yang, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
Durham Smythe is competent and reliable, but a big, skilled receiving tight end would have helped when Hill and Waddle were bottled up.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bottle up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Bottle up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bottle%20up. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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