CHOKE


Meaning of CHOKE in English

/ tʃəʊk; NAmE tʃoʊk/ verb , noun

■ verb

1.

choke (on sth) to be unable to breathe because the passage to your lungs is blocked or you cannot get enough air; to make sb unable to breathe :

[ v ]

He was choking on a piece of toast.

She almost choked to death in the thick fumes.

[ vn ]

Very small toys can choke a baby.

2.

[ vn ] to make sb stop breathing by squeezing their throat

SYN strangle :

He may have been choked or poisoned.

3.

choke (with sth) to be unable to speak normally especially because of strong emotion; to make sb feel too emotional to speak normally :

[ v ]

His voice was choking with rage.

[ vn ]

Despair choked her words.

'I can't bear it,' he said in a choked voice.

—see also choked

4.

[ vn ] choke sth (up) (with sth) to block or fill a passage, space, etc. so that movement is difficult :

The pond was choked with rotten leaves.

The roads are choked up with traffic.

5.

[ v ] ( NAmE , informal ) to fail at sth, for example because you are nervous

PHRASAL VERBS

- choke sth back

- choke sth down

- choke sth off

- choke out | choke out sth

- choke up

■ noun

1.

a device that controls the amount of air flowing into the engine of a vehicle

2.

an act or the sound of choking

••

WORD ORIGIN

Middle English : from Old English ācēocian (verb), from cēoce cheek, jaw , of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch kaak .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.