bottle out

phrasal verb

bottled out; bottling out; bottles out

British slang

: to become too afraid to do something : to lose one's nerve

I was going to ask him but then I bottled out.

Examples of bottle out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Under optimal aging conditions, Texas whiskey makers rarely get more than 250 bottles out of any one 53-gallon vessel. —

Brad Japhe, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024 The scavenger hunt began with Joan and Mark fishing a message in a bottle out of the ocean. —

Dana Rose Falcone, People.com, 17 Oct. 2024 In a post that surfaced on social media, the rapper can be seen spilling over a bunch of baby oil bottles out of a grocery story bag onto a sidewalk. —

Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 26 Sep. 2024 Offering cash to get plastic bottles out of the waste stream is a simple, effective solution. —

Justin Wm. Moyer, Washington Post, 15 Jan. 2024 The singer did, pausing her performance to tell staff to help distressed people, and once tossing a bottle out to the crowd herself. —

Marina Dias, Washington Post, 25 Nov. 2023