choke

[ chohk ]

/ tʃoʊk /

See synonyms for: choke / choked / choking on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), choked, chok·ing.

to stop the breath of by squeezing or obstructing the windpipe; strangle; stifle.

to stop by or as if by strangling or stifling: The sudden wind choked his words.

to stop by filling; obstruct; clog: Grease choked the drain.

to suppress (a feeling, emotion, etc.) (often followed by back or down): I managed to choke back my tears.

to fill chock-full: The storeroom was choked with furniture.

to seize (a log, felled tree, etc.) with a chain, cable, or the like, so as to facilitate removal.

to enrich the fuel mixture of (an internal-combustion engine) by diminishing the air supply to the carburetor.

Sports. to grip (a bat, racket, or the like) farther than usual from the end of the handle; shorten one's grip on (often followed by up).

verb (used without object), choked, chok·ing.

to suffer from or as from strangling or suffocating: He choked on a piece of food.

to become obstructed, clogged, or otherwise stopped: The words choked in her throat.

noun

the act or sound of choking.

a mechanism by which the air supply to the carburetor of an internal-combustion engine can be diminished or stopped.

Machinery. any mechanism that, by blocking a passage, regulates the flow of air, gas, etc.

Electricity. choke coil.

a narrowed part, as in a chokebore.

the bristly upper portion of the receptacle of the artichoke.

Verb Phrases

choke off, to stop or obstruct by or as by choking: to choke off a nation's fuel supply.

choke up,

to become or cause to become speechless, as from the effect of emotion or stress: She choked up over the sadness of the tale.
to become too tense or nervous to perform well: Our team began to choke up in the last inning.

SYNONYMS FOR choke

3 block, dam, plug.

See synonyms for choke on Thesaurus.com

QUIZZES

THIS PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ IS PERFECT PRACTICE FOR THE REAL TEST

In our third teacher-created PSAT practice test there are new and unique vocabulary terms you may have never heard of! Can you guess what they mean?

Question 1 of 10

seclusion

a false belief or opinion.

the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid.

the state of being isolated, kept apart, or withdrawn into solitude.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of choke

1150–1200; Middle English choken,cheken, variant of achoken, acheken,Old English ācēocian to suffocate; akin to Old Norse kōk gullet

OTHER WORDS FROM choke

choke·a·ble, adjectivein·ter·choke, verb (used with object), in·ter·choked, in·ter·chok·ing.un·choke·a·ble, adjectiveun·choked, adjective

Words nearby choke

choirgirl, choir loft, choirmaster, choir school, Choiseul, choke, choke back, chokeberry, chokebore, choke chain, chokecherry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for choke

In practice, this left the states fighting for a limited number of supplies for tests while no one did anywhere near enough to fix the choke points along the supply chain that led to shortages in the first place.
Everyone failed on Covid-19|German Lopez|December 18, 2020|Vox
So the choke point here is that a company has to apply for an EUA.
One doctor’s campaign to stop a covid-19 vaccine being rushed through before Election Day|David Rotman|October 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
He then began to choke her, and as she lost consciousness it must have seemed that his might be the last face she would ever see.
The Girls Who Were Taken Before Hannah Graham|Michael Daly|September 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
According to their friend, producer/filmmaker Choke No Joke, it was over a mutual flame.
Did Beyoncé Just Accuse Jay Z of Cheating?|Marlow Stern|July 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Shiomura continued to speak even though she had to choke back tears at one point.
Japanese Parliament to Women: Breed, Don't Lead|Jake Adelstein, Angela Erika Kubo|June 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A new Kimberley Process working group to monitor CAR might help focus attention on the guilty and choke the diamond flow.
The Curse of CAR: Warlords, Blood Diamonds, and Dead Elephants|Christopher Day|May 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Banks must then ‘choke off’ those customers' access to financial services, shutting down their accounts.
The Banks’ War on Porn Stars|Richard Abowitz, Marlow Stern|May 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then he endeavoured to hum a tune; but his voice seemed to choke him.
The Mysteries of London, v. 1/4|George W. M. Reynolds
Somehow my heart seemed to rise up into my throat and choke me--we had accomplished it!
Love Under Fire|Randall Parrish
I had never heard his voice so wonderfully beautiful before; but, my stars, the sadness of it made me choke!
Friar Tuck|Robert Alexander Wason
He must speak out to the nations; he must unbusm himself, as Jeames would say, or choke and die.
The Book of Snobs|William Makepeace Thackeray
He would have preferred to choke him, but valets were not commonly choked in the presence of young ladies.
Good References|E. J. Rath

British Dictionary definitions for choke

choke

/ (tʃəʊk) /

verb

(tr) to hinder or stop the breathing of (a person or animal), esp by constricting the windpipe or by asphyxiation

(intr) to have trouble or fail in breathing, swallowing, or speaking

(tr) to block or clog up (a passage, pipe, street, etc)

(tr) to retard the growth or action ofthe weeds are choking my plants

(tr) to suppress (emotion)she choked her anger

(intr) slang to die

(tr) to enrich the petrol-air mixture by reducing the air supply to (a carburettor, petrol engine, etc)

(intr) (esp in sport) to be seized with tension and fail to perform well

noun

the act or sound of choking

a device in the carburettor of a petrol engine that enriches the petrol-air mixture by reducing the air supply

any constriction or mechanism for reducing the flow of a fluid in a pipe, tube, etc

Also called: choke coil electronics an inductor having a relatively high impedance, used to prevent the passage of high frequencies or to smooth the output of a rectifier

the inedible centre of the head of an artichoke

Derived forms of choke

chokeable, adjective

Word Origin for choke

Old English ācēocian, of Germanic origin; related to cheek

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for choke

choke

[ chōk ]

v.

To interfere with the respiration of by compression or obstruction of the larynx or trachea.

To have difficulty in breathing, swallowing, or speaking.

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WORD OF THE DAY

choke

verb (used with object), choked, chok·ing.

verb (used without object), choked, chok·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

SYNONYMS FOR choke

QUIZZES

THIS PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ IS PERFECT PRACTICE FOR THE REAL TEST

Origin of choke

OTHER WORDS FROM choke

Words nearby choke

Example sentences from the Web for choke

British Dictionary definitions for choke

verb

noun

Derived forms of choke

Word Origin for choke

Medical definitions for choke

v.

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

choke

verb (used with object), choked, chok·ing.

verb (used without object), choked, chok·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

SYNONYMS FOR choke

QUIZZES

THIS PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ IS PERFECT PRACTICE FOR THE REAL TEST

Origin of choke

OTHER WORDS FROM choke

Words nearby choke

Words related to choke

Example sentences from the Web for choke

British Dictionary definitions for choke

verb

noun

Derived forms of choke

Word Origin for choke

Medical definitions for choke

v.