bottleneck

[bot-l-nek] /ˈbɒt lˌnɛk/
noun
1.
a narrow entrance or passageway.
2.
a place or stage in a process at which progress is impeded.
3.
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.
verb (used with object)
4.
to hamper or confine by or as if by a bottleneck.
verb (used without object)
5.
to become hindered by or as if by a bottleneck.
Origin
1895-1900; bottle1 + neck
Examples from the web for bottleneck
  • Energy shortages fueled by high oil prices, however, are a serious bottleneck to growth.
  • The bottleneck has nothing to do with people leaving town for the weekend.
  • The signature, a reduction in genetic variety, is known as a genetic bottleneck.
  • That's right about when humans emerged from a severe population bottleneck and began to expand globally.
  • However, this grows increasingly expensive and still acts as a bottleneck.
  • The bottleneck for all these systems is the security of the network.
  • Bringing the construction industry online reduces the need for paperwork, traditionally a major bottleneck.
  • The other worrying bottleneck is a shortage of skills.
  • Lots of silicon factories are under construction, so an end to the present bottleneck is in sight.
  • One result of this paralysis is an oil-export bottleneck.
British Dictionary definitions for bottleneck

bottleneck

/ˈbɒtəlˌnɛk/
noun
1.
  1. a narrow stretch of road or a junction at which traffic is or may be held up
  2. the hold up
2.
something that holds up progress, esp of a manufacturing process
3.
(music)
  1. the broken-off neck of a bottle placed over a finger and used to produce a buzzing effect in a style of guitar-playing originally part of the American blues tradition
  2. the style of guitar playing using a bottleneck
verb
4.
(transitive) (US) to be or cause an obstruction in
Contemporary definitions for bottleneck
noun

See slide guitar

Word Origin and History for bottleneck
n.

also bttle-neck, "narrow entrance, spot where traffic becomes congested," 1896; from bottle (n.) + neck (n.). Meaning "anything which obstructs a flow" is from 1922; the verb in this sense is from 1928.

bottleneck in Science
bottleneck
  (bŏt'l-něk')   
An abrupt and severe reduction in the number of individuals during the history of a species, resulting in the loss of diversity from the gene pool. The generations following the bottleneck are more genetically homogenous than would otherwise be expected. Bottlenecks often occur in consequence of a catastrophic event.
bottleneck in Culture

bottleneck definition


The point at which an industry or economic system has to slow its growth because one or more of its components cannot keep up with demand.