garrotte
Americannoun
noun
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a Spanish method of execution by strangulation or by breaking the neck
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the device, usually an iron collar, used in such executions
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obsolete strangulation of one's victim while committing robbery
verb
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to execute by means of the garrotte
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to strangle, esp in order to commit robbery
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of garrotte
C17: from Spanish garrote, perhaps from Old French garrot cudgel; of obscure origin
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.
See Examples For:
It was only a fair example of Malgares's noble courtesy and friendliness to seek thus to mollify in my favor the man whose single word could send me to the garrotte as a spy.
From A Volunteer with Pike The True Narrative of One Dr. John Robinson and of His Love for the Fair Señorita Vallois by Bennet, Robert Ames
Indeed, the accusation is equivalent to one of garrotting: that General Decaen seized and bound his victim, robbed him, and enabled Freycinet and Peron to use his work as their own.
From Terre Napoleón; a History of French Explorations and Projects in Australia by Scott, Ernest
The reasons for revolutions in Paris have always been the same; they have to do with something else than the garrotting of sister-republics.
From The Liberation of Italy by Martinengo-Cesaresco, Countess Evelyn
Came in a gentleman with a deep bass voice consciously indicated in the carriage of his head—the voice garrotting him, as it were, rather high up in the collar.
From Despair's Last Journey by Murray, David Christie
Those familiar with John Leech's Punch Albums will recollect how many of his drawings turned on this outbreak of garrotting.
From The Days Before Yesterday by Hamilton, Frederick Spencer, Lord
The garrotting or imprisonment of one or all the members of the expedition would be a bad bargain if it resulted in the loss to His Catholic Majesty of the Floridas.
From A Volunteer with Pike The True Narrative of One Dr. John Robinson and of His Love for the Fair Señorita Vallois by Bennet, Robert Ames
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.
