as in jams
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
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Recent Examples of bottlenecks
Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 15 Oct. 2025
These expeditions wait for the best windows of calm weather to push for the summit, and their ascents are usually slowed by bottlenecks and congestion.
—Ben Ayers, Outside, 10 Oct. 2025
In an age dominated by artificial intelligence, where data access speed is everything, this advancement addresses one of computing’s most pressing bottlenecks.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2025
If investor sentiment around AI sours, or if progress stalls owing to technological bottlenecks or supply constraints, equity prices could tumble—and, given the degree of market concentration, such an adjustment would ripple rapidly through broad market indices, affecting millions of investors.
—Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2025
Mumbai, India — After decades of bottlenecks and delays, Mumbai, one of the world’s most crowded cities, finally has a second airport.
—Ayushi Shah, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
Annabelle Huang is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Altius Labs, a blockchain infrastructure company (backed by Founders Fund and Pantera) that focuses on solving execution performance bottlenecks.
—Annabelle Huang, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
This has created bottlenecks for social workers and police officers who often struggle to find spots for people voluntarily asking to get clean.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Sep. 2025
Without holistic profiling, teams miss how upstream bottlenecks, inefficient data serialization or chatty APIs cascade into latency and resource waste.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
Indiana receives pups from non-Hoosier woodrats from these zoos, Bordenkecher said, and that will hopefully help the population avoid any genetic bottlenecks.
—Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 15 Oct. 2025
These expeditions wait for the best windows of calm weather to push for the summit, and their ascents are usually slowed by bottlenecks and congestion.
—Ben Ayers, Outside, 10 Oct. 2025
In an age dominated by artificial intelligence, where data access speed is everything, this advancement addresses one of computing’s most pressing bottlenecks.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2025
If investor sentiment around AI sours, or if progress stalls owing to technological bottlenecks or supply constraints, equity prices could tumble—and, given the degree of market concentration, such an adjustment would ripple rapidly through broad market indices, affecting millions of investors.
—Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2025
Mumbai, India — After decades of bottlenecks and delays, Mumbai, one of the world’s most crowded cities, finally has a second airport.
—Ayushi Shah, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
Annabelle Huang is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Altius Labs, a blockchain infrastructure company (backed by Founders Fund and Pantera) that focuses on solving execution performance bottlenecks.
—Annabelle Huang, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
This has created bottlenecks for social workers and police officers who often struggle to find spots for people voluntarily asking to get clean.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Sep. 2025
Without holistic profiling, teams miss how upstream bottlenecks, inefficient data serialization or chatty APIs cascade into latency and resource waste.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bottlenecks
Noun
-
With a deep love and passion for tactile goods, her brand sells items like jams, flower sprinkles, and teas.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
14 Oct. 2025
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The prolific, late-night jams with various musicians floating-in-and-out of Electric Lady, combined with D’Angelo and Questlove’s intense studying of their predecessors, made the multi-year experience feel like going to school in the best way.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Its closure blocks hundreds of trucks from entering and providing food aid to thousands of returning Palestinians.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
-
The original restraining order from Ellis blocks agents from targeting journalists who are not interfering with law enforcement.—
Josh Campbell,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The result has been a seemingly endless run of East Washington Street roadwork and traffic snarls from Alabama Street downtown to I-465.—
Ryan Murphy,
IndyStar,
25 Sep. 2025
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There was talk of traffic snarls and strain on the power grid.—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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At the same time, the Administration has put pressure on tech firms to take down activity that hinders its agenda.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
15 Oct. 2025
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In addition to delivering high-quality search results, this method hinders search-engine cheating; artificially boosting your web page by putting up a thousand pages linking to it won’t accomplish much if those pages have low status.—
Jack Murtagh,
Scientific American,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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That clogs the judicial system, wastes limited resources, and delays justice for those with legitimate grievances.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Both are highly absorptive, drawing out excess oil that clogs pores and contributes to breakouts.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Splatter paints, stems for flowers, spitball fights!—
Lauren Silbert,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
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Clip stems at different heights to show off each flower’s form, and fill in with foliage.—
Miranda Crowell,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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If a mental image only impedes the human’s process of emulation, why should her mindedness make Celmins’s web less natural than the spider’s?—
Harmon Siegel,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
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Let go of whatever impedes your growth and progress.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Don't tail large vehicles closely - Trucks or buses can kick up a water spray that obstructs visibility.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
14 Oct. 2025
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Don't tail large vehicles closely - Trucks or buses can kick up a water spray that obstructs visibility.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bottlenecks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bottlenecks. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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