# bottle

Pronunciation: say "BOT-l" US /ˈbɑ.tl̩/, UK /ˈbɒt.l̩/

## Noun

1. A container for liquids, usually of glass or plastic, with a neck that narrows toward the opening.
   - Simple: A glass or plastic container with a narrow neck, used for holding liquids.
   - _He twisted the cap off the bottle and took a long drink._
   - _The recycling bin overflowed with plastic bottles._
2. The liquid held inside a bottle, considered as a quantity.
   - Simple: The amount of liquid that a bottle holds.
   - _They shared a bottle of wine over dinner._
   - _He downed half a bottle of soda in one gulp._
4. A container fitted with a rubber nipple, used for giving milk or other liquids to infants.
   - Simple: A container with a soft rubber tip, used to give milk to a baby.
   - _The baby refused the bottle until the milk was warm enough._
   - _He sterilized the bottles after every feeding._
5. Intoxicating liquor; alcoholic drink, especially considered as a habit or vice.
   - Simple: Alcohol, especially when someone drinks too much of it.
   - _Years of the bottle had wrecked his health._
   - _He fought hard to stay away from the bottle after rehab._
6. Used before a hair-color term to indicate that the color has been produced by dyeing rather than being natural.
   - Simple: Used before a hair color word to show that the color comes from dye, not nature.
   - _Everyone at the party could tell she was a bottle blonde._
   - _Under the bright stage lights, her bottle red hair looked almost orange._
7. Courage or nerve; the boldness needed to go through with something difficult or risky. *(colloquial, British)*
   - Simple: Courage or nerve, especially when doing something risky or scary.
   - _It took real bottle to stand up to the boss._
   - _She lost her bottle just before the jump._

## Verb

3. To seal a liquid into bottles for storage, sale, or later use.
   - Simple: To put a liquid into bottles and close them tightly to keep for later.
   - _The brewery bottles its ale by hand._
   - _Local farmers bottle their own apple cider in the fall._
8. To lose your nerve and fail to do something at the last moment, or to throw away a winning position through nerves. *(slang, British)*
   - Simple: To get scared and not do something at the last minute, or to lose when you were winning.
   - _He bottled the interview after weeks of preparation._
   - _Plenty of climbers bottle it at the final pitch._
9. To hit someone with a bottle, or to throw bottles at a performer as a sign of disapproval. *(slang, British)*
   - Simple: To hit someone with a bottle, or throw bottles at someone on stage.
   - _The victim was bottled in the face during the late-night fight._
   - _Bouncers feared the crowd might bottle the referee._

## Noun

10. A tied bundle of hay or some other material. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A bundle of something, especially hay, tied together.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To feed an infant from a bottle, with formula or expressed milk, rather than at the breast.
- (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.
- (noun) A dwelling or house; a place where people live.

## Origin

**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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bottle (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).