plural bottlenecks
1
a
: a narrow route
b
: a point of traffic congestion
2
a
: someone or something that slows or halts free movement and progress
working to streamline production and eliminate bottlenecks
b
: impasse
They reached a bottleneck in the negotiations.
c
: a dramatic reduction in the size of a population (as of a species) that results in a decrease in genetic variation
3
or bottleneck guitar
: a style of guitar playing in which glissando effects are produced by sliding an object (such as a knife blade or the neck of a bottle) along the strings
bottlenecked; bottlenecking; bottlenecks
: to slow or halt by causing a bottleneck
Synonyms
Examples of bottleneck in a Sentence
Noun
Bridge construction has created a bottleneck on the southern part of Main Street.
All decisions must be approved by the committee, and this is where the company runs into bottlenecks.
Recent Examples on the Web
Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 May 2013
To compare pre- and post-bottleneck genetic diversity, the researchers sequenced DNA from 1,000-year-old penguin bones on the island.
—Sarah Zhang, Discover Magazine, 22 Feb. 2012
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
The most intense bottlenecks appeared to be in the path of totality, where spectators will be able to view the full eclipse.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2024
The task force is made up of supply chain experts in the administration who can assess any bottlenecks in the supply chain and use federal resources to mitigate it.
—Detroit Free Press, 29 Mar. 2024
Israeli officials have also said the U.N., its partners and other aid agencies have created logistical challenges, resulting in a bottleneck.
—Guy Davies, ABC News, 25 Mar. 2024
Shimon Freedman, a spokesman for COGAT, said the bottlenecks are concentrated on the Gazan side of the border, after aid is inspected but before it is distributed.
—Gaya Gupta, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
For nearly ten months, officers awaiting promotion were prevented from taking on new assignments, creating bottlenecks in the chain of command and disrupting the lives of service members and their families.
—Risa Brooks, Foreign Affairs, 20 Mar. 2024
Tributaries and estuaries can create a bottleneck for the swimming juveniles, which provides those studying them an opportunity to catch, count, and release the eels to get an idea of population trends that can inform larger scientific studies.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 13 Mar. 2024
But now, taking on water in the bottleneck of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, its two dozen crew issued an urgent call for help and prepared to abandon ship.
—Matt Burgess, WIRED, 1 Apr. 2024
Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
New GPUs had to fit on modules that were the same physical size as older ones, that could be cooled using the same heatsink and fan as the old one, and that wouldn't be bottlenecked by whatever PCI Express version the CPU was using.
—Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 23 Mar. 2023
Apprenticeship training hold a great deal of promise, but its expansion is bottlenecked due to a lack of funding, awareness, and availability.
—Shalin Jyotishi, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
Underground areas give you fewer cover spots, more opportunities for bottlenecking enemies, and a chance to find out that certain mercs are claustrophobic.
—Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 20 July 2023
The year is 1957, and this the first time in the film that the swarm of Ferraris, Maseratis and Alfa Romeos has been bottlenecked into a city.
—Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2023
Via the use of generative AI, the public at large can finally get ready access to mental health advisement at a low cost, whenever needed or desired, and no longer be bottlenecked by having to access human therapists that are sparsely available or pricey to utilize.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023
If supplies are bottlenecked long enough, the energy transition could be delayed.
—Jim Krane, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2023
Cohen watched as four pickup trucks filled with armed militants and gunmen on motorcycles encircled the road leading out of the event venue, which was bottlenecked with cars attempting to flee the area.
—Ruth Margalit, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2023
Adjective
The impact of the pre-bottleneck period is attenuated, because much of the population was simply not genetically sampled.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 May 2013
To compare pre- and post-bottleneck genetic diversity, the researchers sequenced DNA from 1,000-year-old penguin bones on the island.
—Sarah Zhang, Discover Magazine, 22 Feb. 2012
Noun
Israeli authorities insist that the bottlenecks are a result of failures by the United Nations and NGOs, while critics accuse Israel of using food as a tool to pressure Gaza’s population and Hamas.
—Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
The most intense bottlenecks appeared to be in the path of totality, where spectators will be able to view the full eclipse.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2024
The task force is made up of supply chain experts in the administration who can assess any bottlenecks in the supply chain and use federal resources to mitigate it.
—Detroit Free Press, 29 Mar. 2024
Israeli officials have also said the U.N., its partners and other aid agencies have created logistical challenges, resulting in a bottleneck.
—Guy Davies, ABC News, 25 Mar. 2024
Shimon Freedman, a spokesman for COGAT, said the bottlenecks are concentrated on the Gazan side of the border, after aid is inspected but before it is distributed.
—Gaya Gupta, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
For nearly ten months, officers awaiting promotion were prevented from taking on new assignments, creating bottlenecks in the chain of command and disrupting the lives of service members and their families.
—Risa Brooks, Foreign Affairs, 20 Mar. 2024
Tributaries and estuaries can create a bottleneck for the swimming juveniles, which provides those studying them an opportunity to catch, count, and release the eels to get an idea of population trends that can inform larger scientific studies.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 13 Mar. 2024
But now, taking on water in the bottleneck of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, its two dozen crew issued an urgent call for help and prepared to abandon ship.
—Matt Burgess, WIRED, 1 Apr. 2024
Verb
Michael O’Leary, who has helmed the European low-cost airline for three decades, said in Poland that Boeing, first and foremost, needs to resolve the issues that have bottlenecked the expansion of Ryanair’s services, Reuters reports.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
New GPUs had to fit on modules that were the same physical size as older ones, that could be cooled using the same heatsink and fan as the old one, and that wouldn't be bottlenecked by whatever PCI Express version the CPU was using.
—Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 23 Mar. 2023
Apprenticeship training hold a great deal of promise, but its expansion is bottlenecked due to a lack of funding, awareness, and availability.
—Shalin Jyotishi, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
Underground areas give you fewer cover spots, more opportunities for bottlenecking enemies, and a chance to find out that certain mercs are claustrophobic.
—Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 20 July 2023
The year is 1957, and this the first time in the film that the swarm of Ferraris, Maseratis and Alfa Romeos has been bottlenecked into a city.
—Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2023
Via the use of generative AI, the public at large can finally get ready access to mental health advisement at a low cost, whenever needed or desired, and no longer be bottlenecked by having to access human therapists that are sparsely available or pricey to utilize.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023
If supplies are bottlenecked long enough, the energy transition could be delayed.
—Jim Krane, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2023
Cohen watched as four pickup trucks filled with armed militants and gunmen on motorcycles encircled the road leading out of the event venue, which was bottlenecked with cars attempting to flee the area.
—Ruth Margalit, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bottleneck.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near bottleneck
Cite this Entry
“Bottleneck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bottleneck. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share