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bottlenecks 1 of 2

noun

plural of bottleneck
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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bottlenecks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of bottleneck
as in snags

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bottlenecks
Noun
That approach could help Covenant avoid some bottlenecks associated with specialized defense production. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026 Map discrete agents to your exact operational bottlenecks, whether that means site feasibility or document quality control. — Anshima Raj, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026 At the same time, tech giants are racing against tight deadlines to outpace peers in the AI arms race while navigating strained power grids and supply chain bottlenecks for essential components like memory chips. — Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026 Productivity began to be measured not only in profits maximized, but also in meetings shortened, messages answered, and bottlenecks removed. — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026 Russia’s satellite industry has long suffered from chronic underfunding, corruption, production bottlenecks, and reliability problems. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 2 Sep. 2026 In theory, these bottlenecks could be resolved by the adoption of various national stablecoins—a real stablecoin in Brazil, a Canadian dollar stablecoin in Canada, and so on. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026 Aside from building new hubs, India’s government has sought to bolster the country’s air cargo capabilities by removing the mandatory rescreening of transshipment cargo at transit stations to alleviate supply chain bottlenecks. — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2026 Sure, there are still bottlenecks galore (memory, power, a limited number of fabs). — Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bottlenecks
  1. jams
  2. snags
  3. snarls
  4. blocks
  5. hinders
  6. clogs
  7. stems
  8. impedes
Noun
  • Fortunately, that’s weapon enough, as Yeoh’s action prowess is well used in Sethi’s pulse-pounding thriller with a killer soundtrack, including jams by Irish rockers Thin Lizzy.
    — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
  • And if the party gets a little too wild, and someone knocks the jams into the drink, don't worry.
    — Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of jams
Verb
  • In the book, when Hig tries to land there, a trip wire almost snags the Cessna and pulls them down to their deaths in a crash.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Luckily, a wake-up chat with Marshall puts Ted back on track, and the night isn’t a total wash — Ted snags a yellow umbrella from the club and just misses the Mother.
    — Erin Strecker, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of snags
Noun
  • This year’s Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer with closures, travel snarls and record gas prices in California.
    — Vince Basada, Sacbee.com, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The wildly popular Instagram page was offline for a hot minute, leaving the general pop pining for videos on the myriad zany happenings in our city, from traffic snarls and celebrity shenanigans to animal encounters and fights outside the club.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026
Definition of snarls
Verb
  • Some told the Miami Herald that the ruling blocks the path to asylum and that the cases cannot be evaluated in a vacuum.
    — Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Stopgap spending bill passes House The House voted yesterday to pass a stopgap government-funding bill that temporarily blocks the White House’s proposal to give political appointees more control over federal research grants.
    — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of blocks
Verb
  • Being polished hinders the chance for an honest dialogue as the moon agitates Chiron.
    — USA TODAY, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026
  • But Meta raised concerns about some of the bills, saying the law to restrict addictive feeds hinders the company's ability to bring enjoyable content to users on its platforms.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of hinders
Verb
  • The fine powder clogs their digestive systems and prevents them from eating plants.
    — Farima Ferguson, The Spruce, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Their active roster is predominantly right-handed, which clogs up some of the lineup decisions for Roberts.
    — Katie Woo, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of clogs
Verb
  • Notable Much of the community-level pushback to data centers stems not only from energy concerns, but from mistrust of large corporations and a fear that small towns will get a bad deal, journalist Jasmine Sun wrote last month.
    — J.D. Capelouto, semafor.com, 11 Sep. 2026
  • First, the recent surge in European inflation stems largely from supply-side energy factors.
    — , CNBC, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of stems
Verb
  • Typically, PAs are putting in 60-hour workweeks, and their duties can include everything from running errands to cleaning up messes to managing the general public when filming takes place in a location and impedes foot or car traffic.
    — Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Contempt of Congress is a federal misdemeanor in which an individual willfully disobeys or impedes a congressional investigation.
    — Connor Greene, Time, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of impedes

Browse Nearby Words

bottlenecking
bottlenecks
bottles
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Cite this Entry

“Bottlenecks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bottlenecks. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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