/ 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 .