often attributive
1
a
: a rigid or semirigid container typically of glass or plastic having a comparatively narrow neck or mouth and usually no handle
b
: a usually bottle-shaped container made of skin for storing a liquid
2
: the quantity held by a bottle
3
a
: intoxicating drink : the practice of drinking
slipped deeper and deeper into the bottle—
Anne Bernays
Anne Bernays
b
: liquid food (such as milk) used in place of mother's milk
bottled; bottling
ˈbä-tᵊl-iŋ 
ˈbät-liŋ
1
a
: to confine as if in a bottle : restrain
—usually used with up
bottling up their anger
b
: to put or keep in a position or situation that makes free activity, progress, or escape difficult or impossible
—usually used with up
bottle up legislation in committee
2
: to put into or as if into a bottle
wished she could bottle their energy
Synonyms
Examples of bottle in a Sentence
Noun
We drank a bottle of wine.
He says he's lost too many years to the bottle, and that he's giving up alcohol.
Her struggles with the bottle affected her entire family.
Has the baby finished her bottle yet?
raised on a bottle instead of breast milk
Verb
The restaurant bottles its own ginger ale.
Near the top of the mountain, the climbers relied on bottled oxygen to breathe.
Recent Examples on the WebYannic Rack, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 July 2024
Read: Nothing is cooler than going out to dinner
Sure, trying and failing to nab a reservation is literally a champagne problem—pity the poor soul who can’t splurge on dinner and a bottle of Dom Perignon Brut.
—Saahil Desai, The Atlantic, 1 July 2024
Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 28 June 2024
The environmental group said the extraction of water, which is bottled and sold as Arrowhead 100% Mountain Spring Water, has dramatically reduced the flow of Strawberry Creek and is causing significant environmental harm.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for bottle 
Noun
Some 500 men are packed into the low wooden structure, banging tables, straining under bottles of beer and glasses of rum and milk.
—Yannic Rack, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 July 2024
Read: Nothing is cooler than going out to dinner
Sure, trying and failing to nab a reservation is literally a champagne problem—pity the poor soul who can’t splurge on dinner and a bottle of Dom Perignon Brut.
—Saahil Desai, The Atlantic, 1 July 2024
Verb
As a refresher, bottled in bond means the whiskey is at least 4 years old, exactly 100 proof, and the product of one distillery and one distilling season.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 28 June 2024
The environmental group said the extraction of water, which is bottled and sold as Arrowhead 100% Mountain Spring Water, has dramatically reduced the flow of Strawberry Creek and is causing significant environmental harm.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for bottle
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bottle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near bottle
Cite this Entry
“Bottle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bottle. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
bottle
noun
bot·tle
ˈbät-ᵊl
often attributive
1
: a rigid or semirigid container typically of glass or plastic having a comparatively narrow neck or mouth and usually no handle see wash bottle
2
: liquid food usually consisting of milk and supplements that is fed from a bottle (as to an infant) in place of mother's milk
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