throttle

[throt-l]

noun

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

2. throttle valve.

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

verb (used with object)

throttled, throttling 

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

2. to choke or suffocate in any way.

3. to compress by fastening something tightly around.

4. to silence or check as if by choking.

   His message was throttled by censorship.

5. Machinery.

   1. to obstruct or check the flow of (a fluid), as to control the speed of an engine.

   2. to reduce the pressure of (a fluid) by passing it from a smaller area to a larger one.

throttle

/ ˈθrɒtəl /

noun

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

2. an informal or dialect word for throat

verb

1. to kill or injure by squeezing the throat

2. to suppress

   to throttle the press

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

Other Word Forms

• throttler noun
• unthrottled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of throttle¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of throttle¹

C14: throtelen , from throte _throat

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at full throttle, at maximum speed.

Example Sentences

The driver only took his foot off the throttle and applied the brakes at the point he collided with the oncoming Citroen C3, the data revealed.

Read more on BBC

A new 12-megapixel camera sits in the center of the nose bridge and shoots sharp video while your hands stay wrapped around your ski poles, bike handles or jet-ski throttle.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

China could deploy “economic, legal and cyber levers to throttle Taiwan’s fuel supply and fracture its political will,” according to the report.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Although she had little experience of city life, she was quite sure that three children baying and barking at full throttle would not be a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Read more on Literature

Russian President Vladimir Putin has already used nuclear saber-rattling to throttle American support for Ukraine.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal