throttle

[throt-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.
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.

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. 2018

Related Words for throttled

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

Examples from the Web for throttled

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of throttled

Burnham's hand fell heavily on his forearm and he checked as if throttled.
The Fortune Hunter
Louis Joseph Vance
She tied a knot with flashing eyes, as if it throttled a foe.
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
Then he was dragged on to the middle of the rug, feeling by this time that he was going to be throttled.
Is He Popenjoy?
Anthony Trollope
I expect it would too, if someone could have throttled Billy Bounce.
Torchy, Private Sec.
Sewell Ford
The name of self-government is noisy everywhere: the Thing is throttled.
A Miscellany of Men
G. K. Chesterton

British Dictionary definitions for throttled

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 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.