throttle

[throt-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.

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

Related Words for throttle

control, inhibit, suppress, smother, silence, gag, strangle, stifle, strangulate, burke

Examples from the Web for throttle

Contemporary Examples of 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
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

Historical Examples of throttle

Stan slammed his hatch cover shut and opened up his throttle.
A Yankee Flier Over Berlin
Al Avery
He turned the throttle and the car resumed its former speed.
Mary Louise in the Country
L. Frank Baum (AKA Edith Van Dyne)
I grasped the dog around the throat and began to throttle him.
The Bell Tone
Edmund H. Leftwich
One day it got loose, flew straight at him, and began trying to throttle him.
Russian Fairy Tales
W. R. S. Ralston
The road saves money in having a christian hand on the throttle.
Quiet Talks on Power
S.D. Gordon

British Dictionary definitions for throttle

throttle

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

"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.