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
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of bottleneck
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 10 Feb. 2026
Existing American and European data center developers are already facing significant power access bottlenecks, according to their note.
—Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 9 Feb. 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
According to him, real-world deployment is a key step to removing the practical and technological bottlenecks that humanoids face today.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 10 Feb. 2026
Existing American and European data center developers are already facing significant power access bottlenecks, according to their note.
—Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 9 Feb. 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
-
Drawing from much more than the caustic hardcore the group have made their name on, Man Bites Dog throws jock jams, late-aughts electro-pop, and industrial into a huge Margaritaville-sized blender.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
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The Best Way To Store Opened Jam While unopened jars of jam can be safely stored in a cool, dry cupboard or pantry, opened jars should always be refrigerated.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
12 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Development often isn’t linear, and every big-leaguer is searching for consistency, shortening the gap between the peaks and valleys within their performance.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
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Sharp and linear, circus stripes are strikingly geometric, so consider shape as well.—
Kristina McGuirk,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Designed for a valley miles away from the Sacramento River, the reservoir would pump water through an underground pipe connecting to the river, rather than damming and trapping its water supply.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
17 Jan. 2026
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The more Austinites have expanded the surface area of lakes — by damming up the Colorado River with various degrees of success from 1893 to 1960 — the more moisture was available to evaporate into the air.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American Statesman,
4 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
While traffic congestion may make I-10 seem far away, the interstate passes as close to Austin as Seguin — only about 45 miles south of the city.—
Newsroom Meteorologist,
Austin American Statesman,
16 Feb. 2026
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This would ease traffic congestion, increase foot traffic for local businesses and provide more opportunities for neighbors to see each other face to face and not just from behind a windshield.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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One designed for lunar surface operations must protect astronauts from perilous cosmic radiation, extreme temperatures, lung-clogging moon dust and the harsh vacuum of space.—
K. R. Callaway,
Scientific American,
5 Feb. 2026
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Dejan Furtula sighed with despair while looking at construction machines working around the clock to remove tons of trash clogging the Drina River near his hometown of Visegrad, in eastern Bosnia.—
Eldar Emric,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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These wafers offer fewer recombination sites, which can significantly enhance electrical performance, but their practical use has been hindered by fragility.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
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The shutdown will hinder Noem’s efforts to pivot away from Minneapolis.—
Michael Scherer,
The Atlantic,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Machines spray out a mixture of compressed air and water from a machine, a process that uses a lot of energy and water.—
Simmone Shah,
Time,
9 Feb. 2026
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These are a class of metals which, within a specific temperature range, release heat when compressed and absorb heat when relaxed.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But Philips got her pads down to block a low shot to the disappointment of the home audience.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
13 Feb. 2026
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Millions of dollars in federal funds were set to flow once again to the Hudson River Tunnel Thursday night, after a federal court order blocking the bucks expired.—
Evan Simko-Bednarski,
New York Daily News,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bottleneck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bottleneck. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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