bottle

SayBOT-l/ˈbɑ.tl̩//ˈbɒt.l̩/

Pluralbottles

Verbbottles, bottling, bottled

13 meanings of bottle

Practice

1
container itselfnouncountable
A container for liquids, usually of glass or plastic, with a neck that narrows toward the opening.
He twisted the cap off the bottle and took a long drink.
The recycling bin overflowed with plastic bottles.
Similarflask
Note
It pushed aside older words. Native pinne and the borrowed Old English ampella both gave way to it, and it partly displaced Old English flasce.
2
what it holdsnouncountable
The liquid held inside a bottle, considered as a quantity.
They shared a bottle of wine over dinner.
He downed half a bottle of soda in one gulp.
UsageUsually a bottle of plus the drink: a bottle of wine, half a bottle of soda.
3
fill and sealverbtransitive
To seal a liquid into bottles for storage, sale, or later use.
The brewery bottles its ale by hand.
Local farmers bottle their own apple cider in the fall.
Note
Beyond liquids, the verb can seal in a talent as easily as a drink. Ivan Hewett, writing in 2014, described the pianist John Ogdon as "a big talent bottled inside a recalcitrant body." The image is of something held under pressure and unable to get out. In its literal use the verb is often industrial, since plants and breweries bottle in bulk.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
Ivan Hewett used the quoted wording about John Ogdon in 2014. en.wiktionary.org
John Ogdon was a pianist. en.wikipedia.org
4
baby milk containernouncountable
A container fitted with a rubber nipple, used for giving milk or other liquids to infants.
The baby refused the bottle until the milk was warm enough.
He sterilized the bottles after every feeding.
5
alcoholnounfiguratively
Intoxicating liquor; alcoholic drink, especially considered as a habit or vice.
Years of the bottle had wrecked his health.
He fought hard to stay away from the bottle after rehab.
UsageUsually with the: hit the bottle, turn to the bottle, stay away from the bottle.
Similardrink, booze, alcohol, liquor
Note
Songwriters have made the phrase a portrait of dependence. Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle" (1974) has a father living in the bottle, and Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" (1988) has one who lives with it.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Gil Scott-Heron's song "The Bottle" was released in 1974. en.wikipedia.org
"The Bottle" depicts a father dependent on alcohol. en.wiktionary.org
Tracy Chapman's song "Fast Car" was released in 1988. en.wikipedia.org
The father in "Fast Car" is described as living with the bottle. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

6
hair dyenouncountablebefore a noun
Used before a hair-color term to indicate that the color has been produced by dyeing rather than being natural.
Everyone at the party could tell she was a bottle blonde.
Under the bright stage lights, her bottle red hair looked almost orange.
Note
The phrase describes the person, not the container. It usually comes up when the natural shade is being revealed, as with the bottle brunette whose own hair is strawberry blonde.
7
couragenouncolloquialBritishuncountable
Courage or nerve; the boldness needed to go through with something difficult or risky.
It took real bottle to stand up to the boss.
She lost her bottle just before the jump.
UsageUsually in set frames: have the bottle to do something, lose your bottle.
Similarnerve, guts, courage, bravery, pluck
Oppositecowardice
Note
Rhyming slang probably lies behind the courage. "Bottle and glass" stood for arse, and the shortened word came to mean nerve.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Bottle and glass means arse in Cockney rhyming slang. en.wiktionary.org
8
back outverbslangBritishtransitive
To lose your nerve and fail to do something at the last moment, or to throw away a winning position through nerves.
He bottled the interview after weeks of preparation.
Plenty of climbers bottle it at the final pitch.
UsageOften bottle it or bottle out: he bottled it at the last moment.
Similarblow, fluff, choke
Note
British slang built on the "nerve" noun: to bottle something is to lose your bottle just before doing it.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The verb developed from the expression lose one's bottle, connecting it to the noun meaning nerve. en.wiktionary.org
9
use as weaponverbslangBritishtransitive
To hit someone with a bottle, or to throw bottles at a performer as a sign of disapproval.
The victim was bottled in the face during the late-night fight.
Bouncers feared the crowd might bottle the referee.
UsageOften passive: someone was bottled in a fight. You usually do not need to add with a bottle.
Note
When a crowd throws bottles at a stage, the same verb becomes the crowd's verdict on a performer.
10
nounobsolete
A tied bundle of hay or some other material.
Can you deny that you've been off and on lately between flunkydom and The Cause, like a donkey between two bottles of hay?
1850, [Charles Kingsley], Alton Locke
Note
Hay came tied in bottles in Shakespeare's day. A Midsummer Night's Dream has a craving for "a bottle of hay," and in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus a tricked horse dealer is left sitting on one when his new horse vanishes. The word comes from Old French botel, kin to modern French botte, "bundle". Charles Kingsley's Alton Locke (1850) still compares a wavering man to a donkey between two bottles of hay.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 8 facts
A bottle could mean a tied bundle. en.wiktionary.org
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream provides contemporary evidence of hay called bottles; Bottom expresses the craving. gutenberg.org
Christopher Marlowe wrote Doctor Faustus. gutenberg.org
The deceived horse dealer reports that his horse vanished, leaving him sitting on a bottle of hay. gutenberg.org
The bundle sense comes through Middle English from Old French botel and is related to modern French botte, meaning bundle. en.wiktionary.org
Charles Kingsley wrote Alton Locke. gutenberg.org
Alton Locke was first published in 1850. archive.org
The donkey occurs in a simile: Crossthwaite compares Alton's indecision to a donkey between two bottles of hay. en.wiktionary.org
11
verbrare
To feed an infant from a bottle, with formula or expressed milk, rather than at the breast.
12
verb
To skew slightly out of line, as pages printed together on one sheet do once that sheet has gone through two or more folds.
13
noundialectalUK
A dwelling or house; a place where people live.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of bottle apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–9

Late Latin buttis ("cask") had a diminutive, butticula, which became Old French boteille and then Middle English botel ("bottle, flask, wineskin"). It replaced the native Old English word pinne and partly displaced flasce.

Meaning 10

Old French botel, a word ultimately related to modern French botte ("bundle"), became Middle English botel, a bundle of hay.