bottle up

verb

1. to restrain (powerful emotion)
2. to keep (an army or other force) contained or trapped

   the French fleet was bottled up in Le Havre

Idioms and Phrases

Repress, contain, hold back; also, confine or trap. For example, The psychiatrist said Eve had been bottling up her anger for years , or The accident bottled up traffic for miles . This idiom likens other kinds of restraint to liquid being contained in a bottle. [Mid-1800s]

Related Words

• repress
• suppress