stranglehold

[ strang-guh l-hohld ]

/ ˈstræŋ gəlˌhoʊld /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stranglehold ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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

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.

RELATED WORDS

grip, monopoly, restrict, suppress

Nearby words

Origin of stranglehold

First recorded in 1890–95; strangle + hold¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stranglehold

The professors concluded that “abstinence-only programs have a stranglehold on sexuality education in Texas public schools.”
Gail Collins on Texas’s Abstinence Sex Education Problems|Gail Collins|June 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The agreement lessened the stranglehold India-Pakistan tensions had put on trade in the region for decades.
Richard Holbrooke's Last Mission in Afghanistan by David Rohde|David Rohde|November 26, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Galled by the stranglehold of the religious right, he has challenged the party to open itself up to young voters and new ideas.
The Next McCain?|Robert Gehrke|May 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
He reached for the arm around his neck and began breaking it free from its stranglehold.
The Sky Is Falling|Lester del Rey

Mrs. Trapes, I've got a stranglehold on that idea, for it is rather brilliant.
The Definite Object|Jeffery Farnol
It gave them such a stranglehold––with the right sort of men––and Brace was the right sort.
At the Crossroads|Harriet T. Comstock
The Party manipulators had now got their stranglehold on the country.
Ireland Since Parnell|Daniel Desmond Sheehan
The smaller the group the tighter its stranglehold over your life and activities.
The Legacy of Greece|Various

British Dictionary definitions for stranglehold

stranglehold

/ (ˈstræŋɡəlˌhəʊld) /

noun

a wrestling hold in which a wrestler's arms are pressed against his opponent's windpipeSee also Japanese stranglehold

complete power or control over a person or situation

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

Word Origin and History for stranglehold