throttle

[ throt-l ]

/ ˈθrɒt l /

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

throne room, throng, thronner, thronos, throstle, throttle, throttle lever, throttle valve, throttle-body injection, throttleable, throttlebottom

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 throttled

To be fair, he told me that he would kill me while he throttled my neck, and once I broke free I tried desperately to fight back.
I Was Pregnant When He Hit Me. Here's #WhyIStayed.|Anonymous|September 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These were men of their time, and their aesthetic interest in the ancient world was throttled by Christian prudery.
The Importance of Adult Classifieds|Hazlitt|September 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even the king of all search engines can be throttled up with a few simple tricks.
13 Hacks to Improve Your Google Search|Nina Strochlic|September 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A: Well, we didn't shut it down—we throttled it back, to be fair.
No Japan Effect: Steven Chu's Plan for Clean and Safe Energy in America|John Avlon|April 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST

If he bad met Edward Marston face to face now he would have sprung upon him and throttled him where he stood.
Rogues and Vagabonds|George R. Sims
Forsooth, as if spirit could be thrust through with steel or throttled by a rope!
The Jacket (The Star-Rover)|Jack London
I tore them off me, I throttled at them in vain: when I would have flung them from me, they clung to my hands like limpets.
Lilith|George MacDonald
It was a grip Von Arnheim was powerless to break, and it was only a question of time until he would be throttled into submission.
The Radio Boys on the Mexican Border|Gerald Breckenridge
The engines were throttled down to half speed ahead, which eased the laboring of the vessel somewhat.
Bobby Blake on a Plantation|Frank A. Warner

British Dictionary definitions for throttled

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 throttled

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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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of throttle

Examples from the Web for throttled

British Dictionary definitions for throttled

throttle

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for throttle

Word Origin and History for throttled

throttle