What does "bottle" mean?
A container, typically made of glass or plastic and having a tapered neck, used primarily for holding liquids.
Bottle
/ˈbɒt.l̩/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A container, typically made of glass or plastic and having a tapered neck, used primarily for holding liquids.
- Grammar: bottle is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: feeding bottle, nursing bottle, alcohol, alcoholic drink.
- Useful contrasts: bota, carboy, cask.
- Usage evidence: Find an empty bottle and fill it with water.
How to use "bottle"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bottle" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bottle" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bottle" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bottle" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bottle" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "feeding bottle" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bottle", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A container, typically made of glass or plastic and having a tapered neck, used primarily for holding liquids.
"Beer is often sold in bottles."
- 2 A dwelling; habitation. UK, dialectal, obsolete
- 3 A bundle, especially of hay; something tied in a bundle. obsolete
"I was no ſooner in the middle of the pond, but my horſe vaniſht away, and I ſat vpon a bottle of hey, neuer ſo neare drowning in my life: […]"
- 4 a glass or plastic vessel used for storing drinks or other liquids; typically cylindrical without handles and with a narrow neck that can be plugged or capped wordnet
- 5 The contents of such a container.
"I only drank a bottle of beer."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 A building; house. UK, dialectal
- 7 a vessel fitted with a flexible teat and filled with milk or formula; used as a substitute for breast feeding infants and very young children wordnet
- 8 A container with a rubber nipple used for giving liquids to infants, a baby bottle.
"The baby wants a bottle."
- 9 the quantity contained in a bottle wordnet
- 10 (originally bottle and glass as rhyming slang for "arse") Nerve, courage. British, informal
"You don’t have the bottle to do that!"
- 11 A container of hair dye, hence with one’s hair color produced by dyeing. attributive
"Did you know he’s a bottle brunette? His natural hair color is strawberry blonde."
- 12 Intoxicating liquor; alcohol. figuratively
"to drown one’s troubles in the bottle"
Verb
- 1 To seal (a liquid) into a bottle for later consumption. Also fig. transitive
"This plant bottles vast quantities of spring water every day."
- 2 put into bottles wordnet
- 3 To feed (an infant) baby formula. British, transitive
"Because of complications she can't breast feed her baby and so she bottles him."
- 4 store (liquids or gases) in bottles wordnet
- 5 To refrain from doing (something) at the last moment because of a sudden loss of courage. British, slang
"The rider bottled the big jump."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 To throw away a leading position. British, slang
"Arsenal bottled the Premier League."
- 7 To strike (someone) with a bottle. British, slang
"He was bottled at a nightclub and had to have facial surgery."
- 8 To pelt (a musical act on stage, etc.) with bottles as a sign of disapproval. British, slang
"Meat Loaf was once bottled at Reading Festival."
- 9 Of pages printed several on a sheet: to rotate slightly when the sheet is folded two or more times. intransitive
"Closely related to creep is the process of bottling. As you may have noticed from your folded sheet of paper, pages don't merely creep when they're folded — they also rotate slightly. This rotation or bottling is caused by the thickness or bulk of the paper."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Find an empty bottle and fill it with water."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bottle"?
Common synonyms include: feeding bottle, nursing bottle, alcohol, alcoholic drink, baby's bottle, backbone.
How do you use "bottle" in a sentence?
Find an empty bottle and fill it with water.
How do you pronounce "bottle"?
Pronounced /ˈbɒt.l̩/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English botel (“bottle, flask, wineskin”), from Old French boteille, from Late Latin butticula, diminutive of buttis (“cask”). Doublet of botija. Displaced native pinne and non-native Old English ampella. Broadly overtook Old English flasce.
Etymology 2
From Middle English bottle, botel, buttle, from Old English botl (“building, house”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōþl, from Proto-Germanic *budlą, *buþlą, *bōþlą (“house, dwelling, farm”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰōw- (literally “to swell, grow, thrive, be, live, dwell”). Cognate with North Frisian budel, bodel, bol, boel (“dwelling, inheritable property”), Dutch boedel, boel (“inheritance, estate”), Danish bol (“farm”), Icelandic ból (“dwelling, abode, farm, lair”). Related to Old English bytlan (“to build”). More at build.
Etymology 3
From Middle English botel (“bundle (of hay)”), from Old French botel, ultimately related to modern French botte (“bundle”).