English Explanatory Dictionary

choke

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To be unable to breathe because of obstruction of the windpipe (for instance food or other objects that go down the wrong way, or fumes or particles in the air that cause the throat to constrict).
  2. To prevent (someone) from breathing or talking by strangling or filling the windpipe.
  3. To obstruct (a passage, etc.) by filling it up or clogging it.
  4. To hinder or check, as growth, expansion, progress, etc.; to kill (a plant by robbing it of nutrients); to extinguish (fire by robbing it of oxygen).
  5. To perform badly at a crucial stage of a competition, especially when one appears to be clearly winning.
  6. To move one's fingers very close to the tip of a pencil, brush or other art tool.
  7. To hold the club or bat lower on the shaft in order to shorten one's swing.
  8. To be checked or stopped, as if by choking
  9. To check or stop (an utterance or voice) as if by choking.
  10. To have a feeling of strangulation in one's throat as a result of passion or strong emotion.
  11. To give (someone) a feeling of strangulation as a result of passion or strong emotion.
  12. To say (something) with one’s throat constricted (due to emotion, for example).
noun
  1. A control on a carburetor to adjust the air/fuel mixture when the engine is cold.
  2. In wrestling, karate (etc.), a type of hold that can result in strangulation.
  3. A constriction at the muzzle end of a shotgun barrel which affects the spread of the shot.
  4. A partial or complete blockage (of boulders, mud, etc.) in a cave passage.
  5. A choking coil.
  6. A major mistake at a crucial stage of a competition because one is nervous, especially when one is winning.
noun
  1. The mass of immature florets in the centre of the bud of an artichoke.

Pronunciation

chōk /t͡ʃəʊk/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-choke.wav /t͡ʃoʊk/

Word forms

choke chokes choking choked choak choake chock

Etymology

From Middle English choken (also cheken), from earlier acheken, from Old English āċēocian (“to choke”), probably derived from Old English ċēoce, ċēace (“jaw, cheek”), see cheek. Cognate with Icelandic kok (“throat”), koka (“to gulp”). See also achoke.

Synonyms

asphyxiate strangle suffocate throttle block up bung up clog congest jam obstruct stop up choke out stifle stick

Derived words

air choke blood choke breadcutter choke chokable choke a darkie choke and puke choke back chokeberry chokebore choke chain choker chain chokecherry choke-children choke collar choke damp chokedamp choke-dog choke down choke-full choke-hold choke hold chokehold choke-me choke off choke on choke out choke pear chokepoint choke point choke price choke-priest choker chokeslam chokestrap choke the chicken choke the luff choke tube choke up chokey choky chokily choking bloom choking coil chokecoil chokingly dechoke enough to choke a horse enough to choke a snake full choke guillotine choke multichoke nonchoked one throat to choke rear naked choke rope and choke too much pudding will choke a dog unchoke
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on C Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary