bottleneck
|bot/tle/neck|
🇺🇸
/ˈbɑː.t̬əlˌnɛk/
🇬🇧
/ˈbɒt.əlˌnɛk/
point of congestion
Etymology
'bottleneck' originates from the English words 'bottle' and 'neck', where 'bottle' refers to a container and 'neck' refers to the narrow part of the container.
'bottleneck' was first used in the 19th century to describe the narrow part of a bottle, and later adopted to describe traffic and process obstructions.
Initially, it meant the narrow part of a bottle, but over time it evolved into its current meaning of a point of congestion or obstruction.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a narrow or obstructed section of a road or path that causes traffic to slow down or stop.
The accident created a bottleneck on the highway.
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Noun 2
a point of congestion or blockage in a process or system that slows down progress.
The outdated software is a bottleneck in our production line.
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Verb 1
to cause a delay or obstruction in a process or system.
The new regulations bottlenecked the approval process.
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Last updated: 2025/01/11 11:35