bottle

 
Pronunciation: /ˈbɒt(ə)l/

noun

  • 1a glass or plastic container with a narrow neck, used for storing drinks or other liquids: he opened the bottle of beer
  • the contents of a bottle: she managed to get through a bottle of wine
  • (the bottle) informal used in reference to the heavy drinking of alcohol: more women are taking to the bottle
  • a bottle fitted with a teat for giving milk or other drinks to babies and very young children.
  • a large metal cylinder holding liquefied gas.
  • 2 [mass noun] British informal the courage or confidence needed to do something difficult or dangerous: I lost my bottle completely and ran

verb

  • 1 [with object] place (drinks or other liquid) in bottles for storage: the wine was bottled in 1997
  • British place (fruit or vegetables) in glass jars with other ingredients in order to preserve them: Angela bottled fruit and jam and chutneys
  • (usually as adjective bottled) store (gas) in a container in liquefied form: she set about connecting the bottled gas to the stove
  • 2 [with object] informal throw a glass bottle at (someone): he was bottled offstage at a club

Phrases

bottle and glass

British rhyming slang arse.

hit the bottle

informal start to drink alcohol heavily: his marriage broke up and he hit the bottle

in bottle

(of wine) having been aged for a specified number of years in its bottle: the wine can be drunk after eight years in bottle

Phrasal Verbs

bottle out

British informal lose one’s nerve and decide not to do something: the Minister has bottled out of real reforms

bottle something up

repress or conceal feelings over time: his anger and frustration had been bottled up for years

bottle someone/thing up

keep someone or something trapped or contained: he had to stay bottled up in New York

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French boteille, from medieval Latin butticula, diminutive of late Latin buttis 'cask, wineskin' (see butt4)