stranglehold

[strang-guhl-hohld]

noun

1. Wrestling.,  an illegal hold by which an opponent's breath is choked off.

2. a restraining hold in which one person uses an arm to encircle the neck of another; a chokehold.

3. any force or influence that restricts the free actions or development of a person or thing; a stifling grip.

   to break the stranglehold of superstition.

stranglehold

/ ˈstræŋɡəlˌhəʊld /

noun

1. a wrestling hold in which a wrestler's arms are pressed against his opponent's windpipe See also Japanese stranglehold

2. complete power or control over a person or situation

Word History and Origins

Origin of stranglehold¹

First recorded in 1890–95; strangle + hold ¹

Example Sentences

But many experts doubt that a deeply fractured opposition could do much to loosen Morena’s stranglehold on power.

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They will invoke academic freedom and free speech to maintain a stranglehold that allows neither.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He provided one moment of danger in the first half when he forced Giorgi Mamardashvili to save with his legs, but was otherwise anonymous as Real failed to establish any sort of stranglehold.

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“The figures show the stranglehold caused by the government shutdown on the IPO market, which is unlikely to return to its September glories until an end to the deadlock,” Kerr said.

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He also secured promises of greater cooperation on the key issue of rare earths as Washington scrambles to break China's stranglehold on materials that enable a wide array of modern technology.

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Related Words

• grip 
• monopoly