asphyxiate

American  

[as-fik-see-eyt] / æsˈfɪk siˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

asphyxiated, asphyxiating

1. to produce asphyxia in.

2. to cause to die or lose consciousness by impairing normal breathing, as by gas or other noxious agents; choke; suffocate; smother.

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verb (used without object)

asphyxiated, asphyxiating

1. to become asphyxiated.

asphyxiate British  

/ æsˈfɪksɪˌeɪt /

verb

1. to cause asphyxia in or undergo asphyxia; smother; suffocate

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Other Word Forms

• asphyxiation
  noun
• asphyxiator
  noun

Etymology

Origin of asphyxiate

First recorded in 1830–40; asphyxi(a) + -ate ¹

Explanation

To asphyxiate is to keep someone from breathing — to suffocate or smother them. Choking on a piece of food can asphyxiate a person. Your body needs to breathe oxygen in order to function, and when it's deprived of oxygen that's called asphyxia or asphyxiation. If a person stops being able to breathe, you can also say they asphyxiate. The origin of this verb is asphyxia, "stopping of the pulse," in Greek, which originally had the same meaning in English, before it came to mean "suffocation."

Related Words

• suffocate