bottleneck
bottleneck Lexical Profile
bottleneck Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A point of congestion or blockage in a system, process, or production line that slows down or halts overall progress.
"The outdated approval process created a major bottleneck in our software development cycle."
A narrow section of a road or a junction where traffic flow is restricted and frequently backs up.
"Commuters face a daily bottleneck where the four-lane highway merges into a single bridge."
A sharp reduction in the size of a biological population due to environmental events or human activities, resulting in a loss of genetic diversity.
"Northern elephant seals experienced a severe genetic bottleneck in the nineteenth century due to overhunting."
The narrow top section of a bottle, or a smooth tube of glass or metal worn on a guitarist's finger to play slide guitar.
"The blues musician slid a glass bottleneck along the strings to produce a mournful, whining sound."
• verb
To delay, obstruct, or become congested as if passing through a narrow constriction.
"An older graphics processor can easily bottleneck the performance of a modern computer system."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in English as a compound of 'bottle' and 'neck', originally referring literally to the narrow top of a glass bottle before acquiring its figurative sense of a constricted passage or point of congestion in the late 19th century.