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
Ian King, Bloomberg, 8 Mar. 2026
The Legislature is bogged down in a bottleneck of bills and even key GOP priorities like finding a way to cut property taxes, haven’t cleared both chambers.
—Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Mar. 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
That speed is critical for AI systems, which must move enormous amounts of data without bottlenecks.
—Ian King, Bloomberg, 8 Mar. 2026
The Legislature is bogged down in a bottleneck of bills and even key GOP priorities like finding a way to cut property taxes, haven’t cleared both chambers.
—Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Mar. 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
-
As Ever was launched 11 months ago, with an inaugural collection of teas, jam, honey and baking mixes.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Often served with just butter and jam, these sweet buns can also be used as sandwich buns for an egg sandwich at breakfast the next morning.—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The linear blooms provide a contrast in form to rounded roses, while the foliage brings airy texture.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Jean is an enthralling account of an artist learning to be less precious about linear healing and emotions that don’t lend themselves to that process.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Plants can regenerate, since the beavers have dammed up the water to keep some for their little ecosystem.—
Katie Grant,
Parents,
4 Mar. 2026
-
As these boar and beavers escape, digging up his neighbor’s fields and damming his streams, the two farmers begin to butt heads.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
On March 1, Nhava Sheva’s congestion levels were just 10 percent.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Waxhaw town commissioners on Tuesday are expected to designate funds toward upgrades to a major road that aim to improve traffic congestion and pedestrian safety in downtown.—
Briah Lumpkins,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
If both rivers dry up or clog with debris from fires, the city could run out of water within weeks.—
David Marston,
Denver Post,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Oil prices surged on worries that the war could clog the global flow of crude.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
California law restricts when local enforcement can coordinate with ICE in making such arrests, and federal officials and Republicans have assailed the policy for hindering immigration enforcement.—
Ethan Varian,
Mercury News,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Many Gulf desalination plants are physically integrated with power stations as co‑generation facilities, meaning attacks on electrical infrastructure could also hinder water production.—
Annika Hammerschlag,
Fortune,
8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Your rightness would earn you a compressed, airless, spiky situation, like the one your parents had.—
Addie Citchens,
New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Wise’s essential deployment of tension is absent without the compressed grain that elevates it.—
Billie Bugara,
Pitchfork,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Wembanyama blocked Kris Dunn’s reverse layup, creating a fast break that ended with an alley-oop dunk by Carter Bryant.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
-
As their bold production takes shape, a rival white theatre mounts its own Richard III just blocks away, threatening to undermine, overshadow, and outmaneuver them.—
Cincinnati Enquirer,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bottleneck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bottleneck. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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