Bottleneck Meaning
/bˈɑtəˌlnɛk/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe narrow portion that forms the pouring spout of a bottle; the neck of a bottle.
nounThe narrow portion that forms the pouring spout of a bottle; the neck of a bottle., A portion of a bottleneck placed on the finger and used as a guitar slide.
Sentence Examples
The shortage of engineers is the greatest bottleneck to the development of our company.
Ashkenazi Jews experienced a population bottleneck around 700 years ago.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The traffic jam occurred because the highway suddenly narrowed into a single-lane ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The narrow bridge created a ____ for all the traffic into the city center.
Word Origin & History
From bottle + neck.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""Permissive" working allows more than one train to be in a block section at one time but trains must be run at low speed in order to stop on sight behind the train in front. Such working is often authorised to allow freight trains to "bunch" together to await a path through a bottleneck instead of being strung out over several block sections, as would be necessary if absolute working were in force."
— 1962 October, “Talking of Trains: The collisions at Connington”, in Modern Railways, page 232:
"At one time, Reading was regarded as a notorious bottleneck in the rail network, almost incapable of managing the number of services that needed to pass through the station each day. [...]
A road widening scheme at Cow Lane has also allowed two-way traffic to run beneath the railway for the first time, helping to remove a notorious road traffic bottleneck in the town."
— 2020 December 2, Andy Coward, “New-look Reading is willing and able”, in Rail, pages 58, 59:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The traffic jam occurred because the highway suddenly narrowed into a single-lane ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The narrow bridge created a ____ for all the traffic into the city center.