chokehold

American  

[chohk-hohld] / ˈtʃoʊkˌhoʊld /

Or choke hold

noun

1. a restraining hold in which one person encircles the neck of another in a viselike grip with the arm, usually approaching from behind.

   The suspect was put in a chokehold and was gasping for breath.

2. a stifling grip; stranglehold.

   a company that once had a chokehold over the PC market.

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chokehold British  

/ ˈtʃəʊkˌhəʊld /

noun

1. the act of holding a person's neck across the windpipe, esp from behind using one arm

2. complete power or control

   the chokehold the mob has had on the town

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chokehold

This comes as Tehran maintains a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy and fertilizer transit.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Firms that count ships, oil output and imports aren’t able to verify U.S. claims about the volume of oil getting through Iran’s chokehold.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

The U.A.E., a major oil exporter, has pushed to get shipments quietly through Hormuz despite Iran’s chokehold.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

But for now, “the market is increasingly pricing a partial restoration of flows rather than a prolonged chokehold on Gulf exports,” Innes said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

Now colored folks like Ophie and her mother, historically in bondage, exercised the freedom they did have to make their way to the city, escaping the chokehold of Jim Crow.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

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