bottle up
verb
bottled up; bottling up; bottles up
: to keep (a feeling or emotion) inside instead of expressing it : to hide (a feeling or emotion)
She's kept her feelings about the accident bottled up for too long.
I know he's angry, but he bottles it up inside instead of talking to someone about it.
Examples of bottle up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
To the duo, Rumspringa bottles up an in-the-moment tension.
—
Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 15 June 2026
Ehrenberg was built to defend against the Bavarians and to bottle up the strategic Via Claudia trade route, which connected Italy and Germany.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 8 June 2026
In the first stint of the race, Russell and Norris were both bottled up behind slower cars but couldn’t find a way past them on the narrow streets.
—Sahil Kapur, NBC news, 7 June 2026
The current situation in early 2026 is a supply reduction, with oil effectively bottled up in the Persian Gulf.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for bottle up
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Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 15 June 2026
Ehrenberg was built to defend against the Bavarians and to bottle up the strategic Via Claudia trade route, which connected Italy and Germany.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 8 June 2026
In the first stint of the race, Russell and Norris were both bottled up behind slower cars but couldn’t find a way past them on the narrow streets.
—Sahil Kapur, NBC news, 7 June 2026
The current situation in early 2026 is a supply reduction, with oil effectively bottled up in the Persian Gulf.
—Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for bottle up
Cite this Entry
“Bottle up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bottle%20up. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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