choke off
Idioms-
Put a stop to, throttle, as in Higher interest rates are choking off the real estate boom . [Early 1800s]
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Stop someone from speaking or complaining, as in Throughout the debate the congressman had to be choked off to give the other candidate a chance to speak . [ Slang ; late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By forcing ships to turn back from the narrow Bab El Mandeb strait, they have threatened to choke off the main maritime route from Europe to Asia.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The driver was Iran’s move to choke off the vital Strait of Hormuz—in normal times a conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil—with a series of attacks on ships early in the war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
Ford stock traded below $9 at the time, with investors fearing that levies would raise costs and choke off consumer demand.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
AMD’s personal-computer segment has done well so far this year, Klein said, but that could be “at risk if memory prices choke off consumer demand” next year.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 25, 2025
Woods choke off views and leave you muddled and without bearings.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
