Bottleneck

UK: /ˈbɒt^əlnɛk/ US: /ˈbɑtəlˌnɛk/ ,(bot′l nek′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

bot•tle•neck /ˈbɑtəlˌnɛk/   n. 

[countable]
1. a narrow passageway, such as on a highway where lanes merge, causing traffic to slow or stop:
   the bottleneck on the bridge where tolls are collected.
2. a place or stage at which progress is slowed:
   hit a bottleneck in the production of that new drug.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

bot•tle•neck  (bot′l nek′), n. 

1. a narrow entrance or passageway.
2. a place or stage in a process at which progress is impeded.
3. Music, Music and Dance Also called slide guitar. a method of guitar playing that produces a gliding sound by pressing a metal bar or glass tube against the strings.

v.t. 

4. to hamper or confine by or as if by a bottleneck.

v.i. 

5. to become hindered by or as if by a bottleneck.

• bottle¹ + neck 1895–1900

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bottleneck / ˈbɒt^əlˌnɛk/ noun

1. a narrow stretch of road or a junction at which traffic is or may be held up
2. the hold-up
3. something that holds up progress, esp of a manufacturing process