bottle it

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bottle-it" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bottle it” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To suppress an action or expression, especially when due to lack of courage.

Key facts for bottle it
PropertyValue
Headwordbottle it
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bottle it” sits in English frequency

bottle it falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bottle it is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for bottle it in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Cockney rhyming slang bottle and glass, originally meaning arse. lose one's nerve was vulgarly lose one's arse, euphemised to lose one's bottle, clipped to bottle and subsequently given a dummy pronoun. See bottle. The correct English form is bottle it, spelled B-O-T-T-L-E- -I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To suppress an action or expression, especially when due to lack of courage.
  2. 2
    To lose one's nerve.
  3. 3
    To run away, especially when due to lack of courage.
  4. 4
    To fail in an embarrassing way in a crucial situation, especially due to nerves.

Etymology

From Cockney rhyming slang bottle and glass, originally meaning arse. lose one's nerve was vulgarly lose one's arse, euphemised to lose one's bottle, clipped to bottle and subsequently given a dummy pronoun. See bottle.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bottle it"?
"bottle it" is spelled B-O-T-T-L-E- -I-T.
What does "bottle it" mean?
As a verb, "bottle it" means: To suppress an action or expression, especially when due to lack of courage.
What is the origin of the word "bottle it"?
From Cockney rhyming slang bottle and glass, originally meaning arse. lose one's nerve was vulgarly lose one's arse, euphemised to lose one's bottle, clipped to bottle and subsequently given a dummy pronoun. See bottle. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “bottle it”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-O-T-T-L-E- -I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list