I. choke 1 /tʃəʊk $ tʃoʊk/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: achoke 'to choke' (11-14 centuries) , from Old English aceocian ]
1 . [intransitive] to be unable to breathe properly because something is in your throat or there is not enough air
choke on
He choked on a piece of bread.
Six people choked to death on the fumes.
2 . [transitive] if something chokes you, it makes you unable to breathe properly:
I felt as if there was a weight on my chest, choking me.
The smoke was choking me.
3 . [transitive] to prevent someone from breathing by putting your hands around their throat and pressing on it:
His hands were round her throat, choking her.
4 . [intransitive and transitive] to be unable to talk clearly because you are feeling a strong emotion
choke with
He was choking with rage.
I was too choked with emotion to speak.
Her voice was choked with rage.
5 . [transitive] ( also choke something ↔ out ) to say something with difficulty because you are very upset or angry:
‘Get out,’ she choked.
6 . [transitive] ( also choke something ↔ up ) to fill a place so that things cannot move through it:
Weeds were choking the stream.
be choked (up) with something
The gutters were choked up with leaves.
7 . [intransitive] informal to fail at doing something, especially a sport, because there is a lot of pressure on you:
People said I choked, but I just had a bad day on the golf course.
8 . [transitive] if one plant chokes another, it kills it by growing all around it and taking away its light and room to grow:
Weeds can quickly choke delicate garden plants.
9 . choke a horse American English spoken if you say that something is big enough to choke a horse, you are emphasizing that it is very big:
a wad of bills big enough to choke a horse
choke something ↔ back phrasal verb
to control your anger, sadness etc so that you do not show it:
He choked back tears as he described what had happened.
She choked back a sob.
I choked back my anger.
choke off something phrasal verb
to prevent something from happening:
It is feared that higher interest rates might choke off economic recovery.
choke something ↔ out phrasal verb
to say something with difficulty because you are very upset or angry:
His heart hammered as he choked out the words.
‘No!’ she choked out.
choke up phrasal verb
1 . choke something ↔ up to fill a place so that things cannot move through it
be choked up with something
The stream was choked up with weeds.
2 . choke somebody up to make someone feel very upset and unable to talk:
This song really chokes me up.
I was really choked up when I saw her again.
II. choke 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . a piece of equipment in a vehicle that controls the amount of air going into the engine, and that is used to help the engine start
2 . the sound that someone makes when they cannot breathe properly because something is in their throat or there is not enough air:
She gave a little choke of laughter.