1. A narrowing that reduces the flow through a channel
   "The factory's production was limited by a bottleneck in the supply chain";
   - constriction, chokepoint
    
2. The narrow part of a bottle near the top
   "The wine poured slowly through the bottleneck"
    
3. A point of congestion or blockage in a system or process that limits overall performance or capacity
   "The slow database server became a bottleneck for the entire application"

1. Slow down or impede by creating an obstruction
   "His laziness has bottlenecked our efforts to reform the system"
    
2. Become narrow, like a bottleneck
   "Right by the bridge, the road bottlenecks"

Derived forms: bottlenecked, bottlenecking, bottlenecks

Type of: block, blockade, contract, embarrass [archaic], hinder, narrow, narrowing, neck, obstruct, part, portion, stymie, stymy [rare]

Encyclopedia: Bottleneck