throttle

[ throt-l ]
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noun
  1. Also called throttle lever. a lever, pedal, handle, etc., for controlling or manipulating a throttle valve.

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

verb (used with object),throt·tled, throt·tling.
  1. to stop the breath of by compressing the throat; strangle.

  2. to choke or suffocate in any way.

  1. to compress by fastening something tightly around.

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

  3. 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 about throttle

  1. at full throttle, at maximum speed.

Origin of throttle

1
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 throtethroat; compare German Drossel

Other words from throttle

  • throttler, noun
  • un·throt·tled, adjective

Words Nearby throttle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use throttle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for throttle

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(tr)
  1. to kill or injure by squeezing the throat

  2. to suppress: to throttle the press

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

Origin of throttle

1
C14: throtelen, from throte throat

Derived forms of throttle

  • throttler, noun

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