bottle

¹

[ bot-l ]

noun

1. a portable container for holding liquids, characteristically having a neck and mouth and made of glass or plastic.
2. the contents of such a container; as much as such a container contains:

   a bottle of wine.

3. bottled cow's milk, milk formulas, or substitute mixtures given to infants instead of mother's milk:

   raised on the bottle.

4. the bottle, intoxicating beverages; liquor:

   He became addicted to the bottle.

verb (used with object)

, bot·tled, bot·tling.

1. to put into or seal in a bottle:

   to bottle grape juice.

2. British. to preserve (fruit or vegetables) by heating to a sufficient temperature and then sealing in a jar.

verb phrase

1. 1. to repress, control, or restrain:

      He kept all of his anger bottled up inside him.

   2. to enclose or entrap:

      Traffic was bottled up in the tunnel.

bottle

²

[ bot-l ]

noun

, Architecture.

1. boltel ( def 2 ).

bottle

¹

/ ˈbɒtəl /

noun

1. 1. a vessel, often of glass and typically cylindrical with a narrow neck that can be closed with a cap or cork, for containing liquids
   2. ( as modifier )

      a bottle rack

2. Also calledbottleful the amount such a vessel will hold
3. 1. a container equipped with a teat that holds a baby's milk or other liquid; nursing bottle
   2. the contents of such a container

      the baby drank his bottle

4. short for magnetic bottle
5. slang.
   nerve; courage (esp in the phrase lose one's bottle )
6. slang.
   money collected by street entertainers or buskers
7. full bottle slang.
   well-informed and enthusiastic about something
8. the bottle informal.
   drinking of alcohol, esp to excess

verb

1. to put or place (wine, beer, jam, etc) in a bottle or bottles
2. to store (gas) in a portable container under pressure
3. slang.
   to injure by thrusting a broken bottle into (a person)
4. slang.
   (of a busker) to collect money from the bystanders

bottle

²

/ ˈbɒtəl /

noun

1. dialect.
   a bundle, esp of hay

Other Words From

• bottle·like adjective
• well-bottled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bottle¹

1325–75; Middle English botel < Anglo-French; Old French bo ( u ) teille < Medieval Latin butticula, equivalent to Late Latin butti ( s ) butt ⁴ + -cula -cule ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of bottle¹

C14: from Old French botaille , from Medieval Latin butticula literally: a little cask, from Late Latin buttis cask, butt ⁴

Origin of bottle²

C14: from Old French botel , from botte bundle, of Germanic origin

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. hit the bottle, Slang. to drink alcohol to excess often or habitually.

More idioms and phrases containing bottle

In addition to the idiom beginning with bottle , also see crack a bottle ; hit the bottle .

Example Sentences

“So I kept it to two bottles, and I would drink them both over the course of the day.”

From Los Angeles Times

The product became notorious for its viral launch - with only a limited stocks made available, Prime spawned a re-sale market with bottles being advertised for hundreds of pounds.

From BBC

“All I could think about was that bottle of champagne in the ice bucket,” she writes.

From Los Angeles Times

"Ella picked up an injury in training the day before the Leicester game. She took a calf injury in a small, bottled session," said United manager Marc Skinner.

From BBC

As he removed the bottles from the bar to stop them smashing, he asked the passenger why he was so calm.

From BBC

Related Words

• glass
• jar
• jug
• urn
• vial