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
as in linear
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in to dam
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of bottleneck
Tobias Burns, CNBC, 1 May 2026
How are researchers tackling the bottleneck of physically manufacturing DNA at scale?
—Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026
Shubham Yewale, PC Magazine, 23 Sep. 2025
Given their constraints, the most plausible near-term roles are simple, repetitive, or hazardous tasks in structured spaces, moving totes, staging parts, and monitoring routine operations, where their slower pace or limited dexterity won’t bottleneck the entire line.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bottleneck
Noun
Memory chips and storage drives are becoming a major bottleneck in the artificial intelligence buildout, driving companies’ capital expenditures higher.
—Tobias Burns, CNBC, 1 May 2026
How are researchers tackling the bottleneck of physically manufacturing DNA at scale?
—Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026
Verb
The real-world difference is how snappy everything feels when your storage doesn’t bottleneck your system.
—Shubham Yewale, PC Magazine, 23 Sep. 2025
Given their constraints, the most plausible near-term roles are simple, repetitive, or hazardous tasks in structured spaces, moving totes, staging parts, and monitoring routine operations, where their slower pace or limited dexterity won’t bottleneck the entire line.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bottleneck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bottleneck
Noun
-
Right-hander Kyle Hurt escaped a jam in the sixth inning when the Braves put the first two runners aboard, while Will Klein, Brock Stewart and Tanner Scott each followed with a scoreless inning.—
Doug Padilla,
Oc Register,
9 May 2026
-
If that’s not your culinary jam, the city is also flush with awesome soul food and Delta-style fish restaurants.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
8 May 2026
Adjective
-
The industrial system of Chicago’s water management — invisible and linear extraction, consumption and disposal of our water resources — is rapidly approaching its limits.—
Alaina Harkness,
Chicago Tribune,
3 May 2026
-
Paglen’s ideas, collected between two covers, carve a clean, linear path through our messy neural era, engaging in the kind of big-picture sense-making that books remain well suited to do, even as AI encroaches on this terrain.—
Louis Bury,
ARTnews.com,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asked experts to study what happened at the Edenville and Sanford dams.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Then, about 20,000 years ago the Laurentide continental glacier moved into the area, pushing rocks, soil, and other debris, eventually damming Pine Creek and forming an expansive lake.—
Anthony Fredericks,
Travel + Leisure,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Preventing congestion key to stable nanoscale catalysis When applied to nanoreactors, the idea of congestion shifts from physical intersections to competition for active catalytic sites.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
3 May 2026
-
Around Penn Station, a key hub for Long Island, New York City and New Jersey travelers, congestion is expected to worsen.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
This week, Metro is set to unveil the first part of a nine-mile subway under Wilshire, one of the most dynamic and traffic-clogged stretches of Los Angeles.—
National Correspondent,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
-
Atherosclerosis usually doesn't have symptoms until an artery is significantly clogged or narrowed.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Allen's lawyers further argued that the conditions hinder him from participating in his defense.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
3 May 2026
-
Columbia Business School professor Gernot Wagner said more Americans will ultimately adopt EVs despite the roadblocks that are hindering ownership.—
Morgan Korn,
ABC News,
3 May 2026
Adjective
-
The processing element tiles operate on compressed matrices, eliminating all unnecessary and ineffectual computation.—
Olivia Hsu,
IEEE Spectrum,
28 Apr. 2026
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The push to move forward has the support of both the White House and many in the press corps, even as organizers face the challenge of reassembling the event under heightened security concerns and a compressed timeline.—
Mabinty Quarshie,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Those bubbles would block blood vessels, stretch and tear tissue, and trigger clotting and inflammation.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
8 May 2026
-
The District of Columbia Council voted to decouple from several provisions of the OBBBA, but Congress passed a resolution to block that move.—
Hayley Cuccinello,
CNBC,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bottleneck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bottleneck. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
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