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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

bottle.

A container, typically made of glass or plastic and having a tapered neck, used primarily for holding liquids.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈbɒtəl/Northern-England, Received-Pronunciation, Wales[ˈbɒtɫ̩]Northern-England, Received-Pronunciation, Wales/ˈbɔtəl/British, Scotland, Southern, Standard[ˈbɔtɫ̩]British, Scotland, Southern, Standard
  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. The contents of such a container.

    I only drank a bottle of beer.
  3. A container with a rubber nipple used for giving liquids to infants, a baby bottle.

    The baby wants a bottle.
  4. (originally bottle and glass as rhyming slang for "arse") Nerve, courage.

    UK · informal
    You don’t have the bottle to do that!
    He was going to ask her out, but he lost his bottle when he saw her.
  5. 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.
  6. Intoxicating liquor; alcohol.

    figuratively
    to drown one’s troubles in the bottle
    to hit the bottle
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeHw-der. Ancient Greekbor.? Latin buttis Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Proto-Italic *-kelos Latin -culus Late Latin butticula Old French boteillebor. Middle English botel English bottle 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. Partially displaced Old English flasce.

verb/ˈbɒtəl/Northern-England, Received-Pronunciation, Wales[ˈbɒtɫ̩]Northern-England, Received-Pronunciation, Wales/ˈbɔtəl/British, Scotland, Southern, Standard[ˈbɔtɫ̩]British, Scotland, Southern, Standard
  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. To feed (an infant) baby formula.

    UK · transitive
    Because of complications she can't breast feed her baby and so she bottles him.
  3. To refrain from doing (something) at the last moment because of a sudden loss of courage.

    UK · slang
    The rider bottled the big jump.
  4. To throw away a leading position.

    UK · slang
    Arsenal bottled the Premier League.
  5. To strike (someone) with a bottle.

    UK · slang
    He was bottled at a nightclub and had to have facial surgery.
  6. To pelt (a musical act on stage, etc.) with bottles as a sign of disapproval.

    UK · slang
    Meat Loaf was once bottled at Reading Festival.
  7. Of pages printed several on a sheet: to rotate slightly when the sheet is folded two or more times.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeHw-der. Ancient Greekbor.? Latin buttis Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Proto-Italic *-kelos Latin -culus Late Latin butticula Old French boteillebor. Middle English botel English bottle 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. Partially displaced Old English flasce.

noun/ˈbɒtəl/Northern-England, Received-Pronunciation, Wales[ˈbɒtɫ̩]Northern-England, Received-Pronunciation, Wales/ˈbɔtəl/British, Scotland, Southern, Standard[ˈbɔtɫ̩]British, Scotland, Southern, Standard
  1. A dwelling; habitation.

    UK · dialectal · obsolete
  2. A building; house.

    UK · dialectal
Where this word comes from

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.

noun/ˈbɒtəl/Northern-England, Received-Pronunciation, Wales[ˈbɒtɫ̩]Northern-England, Received-Pronunciation, Wales/ˈbɔtəl/British, Scotland, Southern, Standard[ˈbɔtɫ̩]British, Scotland, Southern, Standard
  1. A bundle, especially of hay; something tied in a bundle.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English botel (“bundle (of hay)”), from Old French botel, ultimately related to modern French botte (“bundle”).

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Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.