choke Hear it!

choke Definition

choke (c̸hōk)

transitive verb choked, chok′·ing

  1. to prevent from breathing by blocking the windpipe or squeezing the throat of; strangle; suffocate; smother; stifle
  2. to block up; obstruct by clogging
  3. to hinder the growth or action of; smother; suppress
  4. to fill up
  5. to cut off some air from the carburetor of (a gasoline engine) in order to make a richer gasoline mixture
  6. ☆ to hold (a bat, golf club, etc.) away from the end of the handle and closer toward the middle

Etymology: ME choken, aphetic < OE vt. aceocian, to choke, prob. < base of ceoke, jaw, cheek

intransitive verb

  1. to be suffocated; have difficulty in breathing
  2. to be blocked up; be obstructed
  3. to become strained with emotion a choked voice
  4. Informal to be unable to perform efficiently, as in a sporting event, because of tension, strong emotion, etc.

noun

  1. the act of choking; strangulation
  2. a sound of choking
  3. the valve that chokes a carburetor
  4. a constriction, as in a chokebore

choke Idioms

choke back

to hold back (feelings, sobs, etc.)

choke down

to swallow with difficulty

choke off

to bring to an end; end the growth of

choke up

  1. to block up; clog
  2. to fill too full
  3. choke (): often with on
  4. ☆ Informal to be unable to speak, act efficiently, etc., as because of fear, strong emotion, tension, etc.

choke Synonyms

choke

v.

  1. To deprive of air

    asphyxiate, strangle, strangulate, stifle, throttle, garrote, drown, overpower, noose, gibbet, smother, gag, grab by the throat, wring the neck, stop the breath, kill by suffocation, cut off one's air supply, suffocate; see also gag 1, kill 1.

  2. To be deprived of air

    strangle, gag, gasp, suffocate, be out of air, drown, burn out, die out, smother, throttle, die by asphyxiation; see also die 1.

choke Usage Examples

Object

  • rift: Meander with skylights ending after 15m in a choked little rift.
  • sob: At home she was finally able to cry and it came in painful, choking sobs like coughing up ice cubes.
  • tot: Boy, 9, saves choking tot ` We'll hold referendum on police.. .
  • fume: The rescuers risked their lives by crawling through dense choking fumes in which they found the injured men trying to crawl to safety.
  • inlet: They found themselves in a chamber of large dimensions, with several choked inlets.
  • hazard: Contains small parts which could present a choking hazard.

Preposition: on

pretzel: And I hope George W Bush chokes on a pretzel, for good, this time.

Preposition: at

bottom: A choke was pushed at the south end of Coral Chamber, to a 50 foot pot which was choked at the bottom.

Adjective modifier

automatic: Could anyone tell me how to check that the automatic chokes are working correctly on my twin carbs?

Modifying Another Word

  • solidly: However, I won't guarantee that it is not ( a ) solidly choked, ( b ) collapsed anyway.
  • nearly: Nearly choking on my Marks & Spencer's kebabs, the familiar face of Ailsa drifted onto the screen.

Noun used with modifier

boulder: Turning left at the T-junction a low passage enters an area of boulder chokes.

Followed by a transitive particle

off: What this does is choke off the flow of the sound through the body resulting in a " strangled " sound.

Preposition: of

boulder: This is a dense and dangerous choke of small boulders.

Preposition: with

  • boulder: Each place where a burn vanished underground there was an obvious hollow in the field, about a meter deep and choked with boulders.
  • mud: Two other side passages appear to be choked with mud.
  • weed: The drainage ditch running north from Cuckoo's Corner was choked with floating weeds or algae.
  • debris: Quite a few small entrances are to be found and the stream sinks in one which is choked with debris.
  • emotion: Jos, who was just going to gasp out an avowal, choked almost with the emotion that he was obliged to restrain.
  • sand: Ahead was choked with sand, apart from a tiny rift off to the left.