suffocation

American  

[suhf-uh-key-shuhn] / ˌsʌf əˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

• suffocations
  plural

1. the act of killing by preventing air from getting to the blood through the lungs or gills; strangulation.

   A crushing neck injury resulted in the child’s suffocation.

2. difficulty breathing or inability to breathe, or any act that causes this.

   One protestor endured temporary suffocation from tear gas.

3. the act of making someone uncomfortable, or the fact of becoming uncomfortable, through lack of fresh air.

   Every noon, the market was crowded; but on Sundays, it was crowded to the point of suffocation.

4. the act or practice of thwarting someone’s self-expression, freedom, independence, etc..

   Under the military regime there was so much suffocation of the media—they even burned down news offices.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• suffocations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of suffocation

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin suffōcātiōn-, stem of suffōcātiō, “a choking, stifling”; see suffocate ( def. ), -ion ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

suffocation suffocations

The probe also found 59 sleeping bags with hoods or without armholes and 37 sleep pillows marketed for newborns, despite concerns about suffocation and overheating, as well as NHS safe sleep guidance.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Stephane Delapre, a farmer in Beauvoir-sur-Mer, near the western coast, said half his chickens had died of suffocation on Monday.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

When hypergolic propellants burn, they release highly carcinogenic toxins and can cause suffocation and mutate a person’s DNA.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

High concentrations of methane can cause "episodes of suffocation or headaches," Yuri Carvajal, president of the environmental department at the Medical College of Chile, told AFP.

From Barron's ● May 13, 2026

After the usual brief spell of darkness and near suffocation, Harry found himself in the tiny alleyway where the first phase of their plan was scheduled to take place.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Accidental suffocations and strangulations aren't necessarily happening more often, some experts say; rather, fatality review teams have become better at identifying causes of death.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2023

County’s safe sleep campaign that launched in 2012, the number of infant suffocations dropped from 70 in 2011 to 34 in 2014.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2023

He kept the chains moving, always more willing to run for four yards than to force a throw, as Bama’s defense performed its typical suffocations.

From Slate ● Dec. 8, 2020

And the data, Locker said, has failed to show that bumper pads cause suffocations.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 23, 2019

Prof. Chandler, having kept a record of accidents from this cause, had accumulated a formidable list of suffocations due to the use of the damper.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 362, December 9, 1882 by Various