CHOKE

I. verb (~d; choking) see: abide Date: 14th century transitive verb to check or block normal breathing of by compressing or obstructing the trachea or by poisoning or adulterating available air, 2. to check or hinder the growth, development, or activity of , to obstruct by filling up or clogging , to fill completely ; jam , to enrich the fuel mixture of (a motor) by partially shutting off the air intake of the carburetor, to grip (as a baseball bat) some distance from the end of the handle, intransitive verb to become ~d in breathing , 2. to become obstructed or checked, to become or feel constricted in the throat (as from strong emotion), to shorten one's grip especially on the handle of a bat, to lose one's composure and fail to perform effectively in a critical situation , II. noun Date: 1736 the filamentous inedible center of an arti~ flower head, something that obstructs passage or flow: as, a valve for choking a gasoline engine, a constriction in an outlet (as of an oil well) that restricts flow, reactor 2, a constriction (as a narrowing of the barrel or an attachment) at the muzzle of a shotgun that serves to limit the spread of shot, the act of choking