bottleneck

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈbɑtəlnɛk/ UK /ˈbɒtəlnɛk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a point of congestion that slows or limits a process or flow

The single checkout lane became the bottleneck of the whole store.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a point of congestion that... constrictionchokepointcongestionlogjamobstruction snarl jam

Word family

Related forms bottle neck

Etymology

A compound of bottle + neck, from the narrow neck of a bottle that restricts flow, applied figuratively to any point of constriction. Bottle is from Old French boteille, from Late Latin butticula; neck from Old English hnecca.

butticula Latin hnecca Old English

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Topics

Actions & Processes

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# bottleneck

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɑtəlnɛk/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbɒtəlnɛk/

## Meanings
1. a point of congestion that slows or limits a process or flow

## Examples
- The single checkout lane became the bottleneck of the whole store.

## Synonyms
- constriction
- chokepoint
- congestion
- logjam
- obstruction
- snarl
- jam

## Related Forms
- bottle
- neck

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: butticula
- Root: hnecca

## Etymology
A compound of bottle + neck, from the narrow neck of a bottle that restricts flow, applied figuratively to any point of constriction. Bottle is from Old French boteille, from Late Latin butticula; neck from Old English hnecca.

## AI Etymology
Bottleneck is a compound of bottle + neck, from the narrow neck of a bottle that restricts flow, applied figuratively to any point of constriction. Bottle is from Old French boteille, from Late Latin butticula; neck from Old English hnecca. The historical trail runs through butticula in Latin and hnecca in Old English. Morphologically, bottleneck is transparent: it is a compound of bottle + neck, from the narrow neck of a bottle that restricts flow, applied figuratively to any point of constriction. Used as a noun and verb, bottleneck now means "a point of congestion that slows or limits a process or flow", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as bottle and neck. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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