choke.
To be unable to breathe because of obstruction of the windpipe (for instance food or other objects that go down the wrong way, or fumes or particles in the air that cause the throat to constrict).
Meaning & usage
To be unable to breathe because of obstruction of the windpipe (for instance food or other objects that go down the wrong way, or fumes or particles in the air that cause the throat to constrict).
Ever since he choked on a bone, he has refused to eat fish.
To prevent (someone) from breathing or talking by strangling or filling the windpipe.
The collar of this shirt is too tight; it’s choking me.
To obstruct (a passage, etc.) by filling it up or clogging it.
to choke a cave passage with boulders and mud
To hinder or check, as growth, expansion, progress, etc.; to kill (a plant by robbing it of nutrients); to extinguish (fire by robbing it of oxygen).
To perform badly at a crucial stage of a competition, especially when one appears to be clearly winning.
He has a lot of talent, but he tends to choke under pressure.
To move one's fingers very close to the tip of a pencil, brush or other art tool.
To hold the club or bat lower on the shaft in order to shorten one's swing.
To be checked or stopped, as if by choking
To check or stop (an utterance or voice) as if by choking.
To have a feeling of strangulation in one's throat as a result of passion or strong emotion.
To give (someone) a feeling of strangulation as a result of passion or strong emotion.
To say (something) with one’s throat constricted (due to emotion, for example).
To use the choke valve of (a vehicle) to adjust the air/fuel mixture in the engine.
To reach a condition of maximum flowrate, due to the flow at the narrowest point of the duct becoming sonic (Ma = 1).
To make or install a choke, as in a cartridge, or in the bore of the barrel of a shotgun.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English choken (also cheken), from earlier acheken, from Old English āċēocian (“to choke”), probably derived from Old English ċēoce, ċēace (“jaw, cheek”), see cheek. Cognate with Icelandic kok (“throat”), koka (“to gulp”). See also achoke.
A control on a carburetor to adjust the air/fuel mixture when the engine is cold.
In wrestling, karate (etc.), a type of hold that can result in strangulation.
A constriction at the muzzle end of a shotgun barrel which affects the spread of the shot.
A partial or complete blockage (of boulders, mud, etc.) in a cave passage.
A choking coil.
A major mistake at a crucial stage of a competition because one is nervous, especially when one is winning.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English choken (also cheken), from earlier acheken, from Old English āċēocian (“to choke”), probably derived from Old English ċēoce, ċēace (“jaw, cheek”), see cheek. Cognate with Icelandic kok (“throat”), koka (“to gulp”). See also achoke.
The mass of immature florets in the centre of the bud of an artichoke.
Where this word comes from
Back-formation from artichoke.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.