stran ‧ gle /ˈstræŋɡ ə l/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: estrangler , from Latin strangulare ; ⇨ ↑ strangulation ]
1 . to kill someone by pressing their throat with your hands, a rope etc ⇨ choke
strangle with
The victim had been strangled with a belt.
2 . to limit or prevent the growth or development of something:
Mills argues that high taxation strangles the economy.
—strangler noun [countable]