Dictionary Definition

bottleneck n : a narrowing that reduces the flow through a channel [syn: constriction, chokepoint]

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"

User Contributed Dictionary

the narrow portion that forms the pouring spout of a bottle; the neck of a bottle
in traffic, any narrowing of the road, especially resulting in a delay
any delay; part of a process that is too slow or cumbersome

It is easy to create entries; processing the paperwork is the bottleneck.

neck of a bottle

narrowing of the road, especially resulting in a delay

any delay; part of a process that is too slow or cumbersome

Bottleneck literally refers to the top narrow part of a bottle. Figuratively, it may also refer:

Bottleneck (engineering)
Bottleneck (logistics)
Bottleneck (traffic)
Bottleneck guitar, also known as slide guitar
Free State Bottleneck, a quasi-state that existed in Germany during the time of the Weimar Republic
Population bottleneck, an evolutionary event that drastically reduces a population
Von Neumann bottleneck, a limit of throughput between a computer's processor and its memory
Choke point, a concept in military strategy and geopolitics

bottleneck in German: Flaschenhals

bottleneck in French: Bottleneck

bottleneck in Korean: 병목

bottleneck in Italian: Bottleneck

bottleneck in Hebrew: צוואר בקבוק

bottleneck in Dutch: Bottleneck

bottleneck in Japanese: ボトルネック

bottleneck in Chinese: 瓶頸