choke

[ chohk ]

/ tʃoʊk /

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verb (used with object), choked, chok·ing.

to stop the breath of by squeezing or obstructing the windpipe; strangle; stifle.

to stop by or as if by strangling or stifling: The sudden wind choked his words.

to stop by filling; obstruct; clog: Grease choked the drain.

to suppress (a feeling, emotion, etc.) (often followed by back or down): I managed to choke back my tears.

to fill chock-full: The storeroom was choked with furniture.

to seize (a log, felled tree, etc.) with a chain, cable, or the like, so as to facilitate removal.

to enrich the fuel mixture of (an internal-combustion engine) by diminishing the air supply to the carburetor.

Sports. to grip (a bat, racket, or the like) farther than usual from the end of the handle; shorten one's grip on (often followed by up).

verb (used without object), choked, chok·ing.

to suffer from or as from strangling or suffocating: He choked on a piece of food.

to become obstructed, clogged, or otherwise stopped: The words choked in her throat.

noun

the act or sound of choking.

a mechanism by which the air supply to the carburetor of an internal-combustion engine can be diminished or stopped.

Machinery. any mechanism that, by blocking a passage, regulates the flow of air, gas, etc.

Electricity. choke coil.

a narrowed part, as in a chokebore.

the bristly upper portion of the receptacle of the artichoke.

Verb Phrases

choke off, to stop or obstruct by or as by choking: to choke off a nation's fuel supply.

choke up,

to become or cause to become speechless, as from the effect of emotion or stress: She choked up over the sadness of the tale.
to become too tense or nervous to perform well: Our team began to choke up in the last inning.

Origin of choke

1150–1200; Middle English choken, cheken, variant of achoken, acheken, Old English ācēocian to suffocate; akin to Old Norse kōk gullet

SYNONYMS FOR choke

3 block, dam, plug.

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OTHER WORDS FROM choke

choke·a·ble, adjective in·ter·choke, verb (used with object), in·ter·choked, in·ter·chok·ing. un·choke·a·ble, adjective un·choked, adjective

Words nearby choke

choir school, choirboy, choirgirl, choirmaster, choiseul, choke, choke back, choke chain, choke coil, choke collar, choke off

British Dictionary definitions for choke up (1 of 2)

choke up

verb (tr, adverb)

to block (a drain, pipe, etc) completely

informal (usually passive) to overcome (a person) with emotion, esp without due cause

British Dictionary definitions for choke up (2 of 2)

choke

/ (tʃəʊk) /

verb

(tr) to hinder or stop the breathing of (a person or animal), esp by constricting the windpipe or by asphyxiation

(intr) to have trouble or fail in breathing, swallowing, or speaking

(tr) to block or clog up (a passage, pipe, street, etc)

(tr) to retard the growth or action of the weeds are choking my plants

(tr) to suppress (emotion) she choked her anger

(intr) slang to die

(tr) to enrich the petrol-air mixture by reducing the air supply to (a carburettor, petrol engine, etc)

(intr) (esp in sport) to be seized with tension and fail to perform well

noun

the act or sound of choking

a device in the carburettor of a petrol engine that enriches the petrol-air mixture by reducing the air supply

any constriction or mechanism for reducing the flow of a fluid in a pipe, tube, etc

Also called: choke coil electronics an inductor having a relatively high impedance, used to prevent the passage of high frequencies or to smooth the output of a rectifier

the inedible centre of the head of an artichoke

Derived forms of choke

chokeable, adjective

Word Origin for choke

Old English ācēocian, of Germanic origin; related to cheek

Medical definitions for choke up

choke

[ chōk ]

v.

To interfere with the respiration of by compression or obstruction of the larynx or trachea.

To have difficulty in breathing, swallowing, or speaking.

Idioms and Phrases with choke up

choke up

Block a channel or other passage, as in Vegetation choked up the creek like a dam. [Late 1600s]

Be too emotional or upset to speak, as in She became so emotional about winning that she choked up and was unable to give an interview.

Become too nervous or tense in a critical situation to perform, as in He's fine during practice but in a match he tends to choke up. This usage, also put as to choke alone, is especially common in sports. [Colloquial; mid-1900s]

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

choke

verb (used with object), choked, chok·ing.

verb (used without object), choked, chok·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

Origin of choke

SYNONYMS FOR choke

OTHER WORDS FROM choke

Words nearby choke

British Dictionary definitions for choke up (1 of 2)

verb (tr, adverb)

British Dictionary definitions for choke up (2 of 2)

verb

noun

Derived forms of choke

Word Origin for choke

Medical definitions for choke up

v.

Idioms and Phrases with choke up

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

choke

verb (used with object), choked, chok·ing.

verb (used without object), choked, chok·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

Origin of choke

SYNONYMS FOR choke

OTHER WORDS FROM choke

Words nearby choke

Words related to choke up

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for choke up (1 of 2)

verb (tr, adverb)

British Dictionary definitions for choke up (2 of 2)

verb

noun

Derived forms of choke

Word Origin for choke

Medical definitions for choke up

v.

Idioms and Phrases with choke up

British Dictionary definitions for choke up (1 of 2)