Repress, contain, hold back; also, confine or trap. For example, The psychiatrist said Eve had been bottling up her anger for years, or The accident bottled up traffic for miles. This idiom likens other kinds of restraint to liquid being contained in a bottle. [Mid-1800s]
bottle up
| Idioms: bottle up |
| Antonyms: bottle up |
v
Definition: hold in check
Antonyms: let go
v
Definition: keep feeling inside oneself
Antonyms: confide, reveal, tell
| WordNet: bottle up |
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The verb has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
control and refrain from showing; of emotions
Synonym: suppress
Learn More
 | announce |
| communicate |
| bottle (Idiom) |
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
 |
 | Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Antonyms. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more |
ADVERTISEMENT
Mentioned in
- announce
- communicate
- bottle (Idiom)
- Sunrise (1989 Album by Shelby Lynne)
- The Mile Ends (Rock Band, '60s)
- bottled
- Rockin' with Big John (1992 Album by Big John Greer)
- Ear-Piercing Punk (1996 Album by Various Artists)
- Travelin' Highway Man (1939 Album by Tommy McClennan)
- Sara Bareilles: Between the Lines - Live at the Fillmore (2008 Music Film)
- Tommy McClennan (Blues Artist, '30s, '40s)
- Tappin' That Thing (1984 Album by Hammie Nixon)
- The Original Chatham Jack (1992 Album by Billy Childish & The Black Hands)
- The Best of Hooker 'n Heat (1996 Album by Canned Heat & John Lee Hooker)
