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strangle
[ strang-guhl ]
/ ˈstræŋ gəl /
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verb (used with object), stran·gled, stran·gling.
to kill by squeezing the throat in order to compress the windpipe and prevent the intake of air, as with the hands or a tightly drawn cord.
to kill by stopping the breath in any manner; choke; stifle; suffocate.
to prevent the continuance, growth, rise, or action of; suppress: Censorship strangles a free press.
verb (used without object), stran·gled, stran·gling.
to be choked, stifled, or suffocated.
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Origin of strangle
1250–1300; Middle English strangelen<Old French estrangler<Latin strangulāre<Greek strangalân, derivative of strangálē halter, akin to strangós twisted
OTHER WORDS FROM strangle
strangler, nounstran·gling·ly, adverbun·stran·gled, adjectiveWords nearby strangle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use strangle in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for strangle
strangle
/ (ˈstræŋɡəl) /
verb
(tr) to kill by compressing the windpipe; throttle
(tr) to prevent or inhibit the growth or development ofto strangle originality
(tr) to suppress (an utterance) by or as if by swallowing suddenlyto strangle a cry
See also strangles
Word Origin for strangle
C13: via Old French, ultimately from Greek strangalē a halter
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 strangle
strangle
[ străng′gəl ]
v.
To compress the trachea so as to prevent sufficient passage of air; suffocate.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.