throttle

[ throt-l ]

/ ˈθrɒt l /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR throttle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also called throttle lever. a lever, pedal, handle, etc., for controlling or manipulating a throttle valve.

throttle valve.

the throat, gullet, or windpipe, as of a horse.

verb (used with object), throt·tled, throt·tling.

to stop the breath of by compressing the throat; strangle.

to choke or suffocate in any way.

to compress by fastening something tightly around.

to silence or check as if by choking: His message was throttled by censorship.

Machinery.

to obstruct or check the flow of (a fluid), as to control the speed of an engine.
to reduce the pressure of (a fluid) by passing it from a smaller area to a larger one.

Nearby words

Idioms

at full throttle, at maximum speed.

Origin of throttle

1350–1400; (v.) Middle English throtelen, frequentative of throten to cut the throat of (someone), strangle, derivative of throat; (noun) probably diminutive of Middle English throte throat; compare German Drossel

Related formsthrot·tler, nounun·throt·tled, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for throttle

When you hit a throttle on a sprint car, the car sets sideways.
Homicide or Accident in Tony Stewart’s NASCAR Scandal?|Robert Silverman|August 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But, really, the whole episode was a reminder of how reform can swerve when a government has its foot to the throttle.
Will Britain's Coalition Government Survive?|Peter Hoskin|August 18, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Have they not called out of the nation's heart all that was best to throttle and subdue all that was worst?
The Color Line|William Benjamin Smith
The engine is regulated by an ordinary Porter governor actuating the throttle valve, O.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 633, February 18, 1888|Various

As soon as the engine begins to run properly, the spark is advanced and the throttle closed down to the required point.
Motors|James Slough Zerbe
Then he opened the throttle and the Fuor d'Italia leaped forward and raced away with an angry roar.
El Diablo|Brayton Norton
The rudder is controlled by the feet, and the throttle is on the right side.
Lest We Forget|John Gilbert Thompson

British Dictionary definitions for throttle

throttle

/ (ˈθrɒtəl) /

noun

Also called: throttle valve any device that controls the quantity of fuel or fuel and air mixture entering an engine

an informal or dialect word for throat

verb (tr)

to kill or injure by squeezing the throat

to suppressto throttle the press

to control or restrict (a flow of fluid) by means of a throttle valve

Derived Formsthrottler, noun

Word Origin for throttle

C14: throtelen, from throte throat

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 throttle

throttle

"strangle to death," c.1400, probably from Middle English throte "throat" (see throat). Related: Throttled; throttling. The noun, in the mechanical sense, is first recorded 1870s, from throttle-valve (1824), but was used earlier as a synonym for "throat" (1540s); it appears to be an independent formation, not derived from the verb.

throttle

noun

verb (used with object), throt·tled, throt·tling.

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Idioms

Origin of throttle

Examples from the Web for throttle

throttle

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for throttle

throttle