suffocate
Americanverb (used with object)
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suffocates,
present (3rd person singular)
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suffocated,
past participle, past
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suffocating
present participle
verb
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to kill or be killed by the deprivation of oxygen, as by obstruction of the air passage or inhalation of noxious gases
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to block the air passages or have the air passages blocked
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to feel or cause to feel discomfort from heat and lack of air
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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suffocationnoun
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suffocatingadjective
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suffocativeadjective
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unsuffocatedadjective
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unsuffocativeadjective
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suffocatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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suffocatesimple
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suffocatessimple
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have suffocatedperfect
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has suffocatedperfect
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am suffocatingprogressive
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are suffocatingprogressive
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is suffocatingprogressive
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have been suffocatingperfect progressive
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has been suffocatingperfect progressive
Past
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suffocatedsimple
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had suffocatedperfect
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was suffocatingprogressive
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were suffocatingprogressive
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had been suffocatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of suffocate
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin suffōcātus (past participle of suffōcāre “to choke, stifle”), equivalent to suf- suf- + -fōc- (combining form of fauc-, stem of faucēs “throat”) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
When you suffocate, you struggle for breath, either because you’re being choked to death or because you’re in a stifling room. You can also suffocate in a figurative sense anytime something is restricted. Suffocate can also mean to die from lack of oxygen. If you’re a miner who gets trapped in a collapsed mine, you'll likely suffocate. Less seriously, if the ventilation system is turned off in your school, you might feel as though you'll suffocate. And if your art teacher insists that you produce Dadaist paintings, you may feel that she's trying to suffocate your talent.
Vocabulary lists containing suffocate
"My Favorite Chaperone," Vocabulary from the short story
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Out of the Dust
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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:
“Take advantage of the time you have ahead of you to understand risk better. Don’t suffocate your portfolio” by allocating too much for income-based investments.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 2026
Their breath was believed to poison the air and suffocate the land, especially in swampy regions where disease was common.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 2, 2026
A completely overhauled defense learned to suffocate opposing offenses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
Every step in the search-and-rescue process would take time, and someone buried in snow is likely to suffocate within minutes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2025
It made his heart swell, as if he were going to suffocate.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
However, if there is too much calcium, the mitochondrial processes become unbalanced and the cell suffocates.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 29, 2024
As Spain suffocates under high temperatures, ice on its mountains is melting.
From Reuters ● Aug. 9, 2023
In Los Angeles County alone, a baby suffocates nearly every week while sleeping, according to the infant safe sleep campaign from the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
It suffocates resident wildlife, and the toxic gases it releases - hydrogen sulphide and ammonia - can cause headaches, nausea and breathing difficulties in humans.
From BBC ● May 17, 2023
When the awareness of it strikes, a man either suffocates with despair or he turns to cling to his woman, to console and seek consolation.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
“I feel suffocated and breathless when it is too hot,” she says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
India has also received three shipments of crude oil from Iran, according to a local Iranian diplomatic mission—the first such transfers in years after sanctions suffocated trade between the two countries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
"Around 9 pm, I was feeling suffocated and nostalgic, so I got in the car to drive around town," a 28-year-old woman told AFP on Monday on condition that her identity be protected.
From Barron's ● Apr. 1, 2026
"It gets to a point where you're being suffocated and you need to breathe, and I feel this is my way of trying to breathe," Harrison said.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
I walked fast through the room: I stopped, half suffocated with the thoughts that rose faster than I could receive, comprehend, settle them:—thoughts of what might, could, would, and should be, and that ere long.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Indonesia has been battling fires for weeks in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, sending suffocating haze across the islands and neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
He says his son should attack Garcia using suffocating, bobbing aggression - the kind that Nigel used to blow out Iran Barkley in 1990.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Scientists suspect that the combination of high heat and a suffocating deep-tropical air mass will be considered the worst humidity the region has experienced in the modern era.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
In every round, it did just enough, relying on suffocating defense and its trademark depth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The room stank of Jordan's suffocating cologne, stifling smoke, and fear.
From "Forged by Fire" by Sharon M. Draper
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
