Adjacent Words

Choke definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CHOKE, v.t.
1. To stop the passage of the breath, by filling the windpipe or compressing the neck. The word is used to express a temporary or partial stoppage, as to choke with dirt or smoke; or an entire stoppage that causes death; to suffocate; to strangle. Mark 5.
2. To stop by filling; to obstruct; to block up; as, to choke the entrance of a harbor, or any passage.
3. To hinder by obstruction or impediments; to hinder or check growth, expansion, or progress; as, to choke plants; to choke the spreading of the fruit.
Thorns choke them. Matthew 13. Luke 8.
4. To smother or suffocate, as fire.
5. To suppress or stifle; as, to choke the strong conception.
6. To offend; to cause to take an exception; as, I was choked at this word.
We observe that this word generally implies crowding, stuffing or covering. A channel is choked by stones and sand, but not by a boom.
CHOKE, v.i.
1. To have the wind-pipe stopped; as, cattle are apt to choke when eating potatoes.
2. To be offended; to take exceptions.
CHOKE, n. The filamentous or capillary part of the artichoke.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a coil of low resistance and high inductance used in electrical circuits to pass direct current and attenuate alternating current [syn: choke, choke coil, choking coil]
2: a valve that controls the flow of air into the carburetor of a gasoline engine v
1: breathe with great difficulty, as when experiencing a strong emotion; "She choked with emotion when she spoke about her deceased husband"
2: be too tight; rub or press; "This neckband is choking the cat" [syn: choke, gag, fret]
3: wring the neck of; "The man choked his opponent" [syn: choke, scrag]
4: constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing [syn: choke, strangle]
5: struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; "he swallowed a fishbone and gagged" [syn: gag, choke, strangle, suffocate]
6: fail to perform adequately due to tension or agitation; "The team should have won hands down but choked, disappointing the coach and the audience"
7: check or slow down the action or effect of; "She choked her anger"
8: become or cause to become obstructed; "The leaves clog our drains in the Fall"; "The water pipe is backed up" [syn: clog, choke off, clog up, back up, congest, choke, foul] [ant: unclog]
9: impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of; "The foul air was slowly suffocating the children" [syn: suffocate, stifle, asphyxiate, choke]
10: become stultified, suppressed, or stifled; "He is suffocating--living at home with his aged parents in the small village" [syn: suffocate, choke]
11: suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of; "His job suffocated him" [syn: suffocate, choke]
12: pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life; "She died from cancer"; "The children perished in the fire"; "The patient went peacefully"; "The old guy kicked the bucket at the age of 102" [syn: die, decease, perish, go, exit, pass away, expire, pass, kick the bucket, cash in one's chips, buy the farm, conk, give-up the ghost, drop dead, pop off, choke, croak, snuff it] [ant: be born]
13: reduce the air supply; "choke a carburetor" [syn: choke, throttle]
14: cause to retch or choke [syn: gag, choke]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (choked; choking) Etymology: Middle English, alteration of achoken, from Old English ?c?ocian, from ?-, perfective prefix + c?oce, c?ace jaw, cheek — more at abide, cheek Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to check or block normal breathing of by compressing or obstructing the trachea or by poisoning or adulterating available air 2. a. to check or hinder the growth, development, or activity of <the flowers were choked by the weeds> b. to obstruct by filling up or clogging <leaves choked the drain> c. to fill completely ; jam <roads choked with traffic> 3. to enrich the fuel mixture of (a motor) by partially shutting off the air intake of the carburetor 4. to grip (as a baseball bat) some distance from the end of the handle — usually used with up intransitive verb 1. to become choked in breathing <he choked on a bone> 2. a. to become obstructed or checked b. to become or feel constricted in the throat (as from strong emotion) — usually used with up <choked up and couldn't finish the speech> 3. to shorten one's grip especially on the handle of a bat — usually used with up 4. to lose one's composure and fail to perform effectively in a critical situation <had a chance to win the game but he choked> II. noun Date: 1736 1. [by folk etymology from artichoke] the filamentous inedible center of an artichoke flower head; broadly an artichoke flower head 2. something that obstructs passage or flow: as a. a valve for choking a gasoline engine b. a constriction in an outlet (as of an oil well) that restricts flow c. reactor 2 d. 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 3. the act of choking

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v. 1 tr. hinder or impede the breathing of (a person or animal) esp. by constricting the windpipe or (of gas, smoke, etc.) by being unbreathable. 2 intr. suffer a hindrance or stoppage of breath. 3 tr. & intr. make or become speechless from emotion. 4 tr. retard the growth of or kill (esp. plants) by the deprivation of light, air, nourishment, etc. 5 tr. (often foll. by back) suppress (feelings) with difficulty. 6 tr. block or clog (a passage, tube, etc.). 7 tr. (as choked adj.) colloq. disgusted, disappointed. 8 tr. enrich the fuel mixture in (an internal-combustion engine) by reducing the intake of air. --n. 1 the valve in the carburettor of an internal-combustion engine that controls the intake of air, esp. to enrich the fuel mixture. 2 Electr. an inductance coil used to smooth the variations of an alternating current or to alter its phase. Phrases and idioms: choke-chain a chain looped round a dog's neck to exert control by pressure on its windpipe when the dog pulls. choke-cherry (pl. -cherries) an astringent N. American cherry, Prunus virginiana. choke-damp carbon dioxide in mines, wells, etc. choke down swallow with difficulty. choke up block (a channel etc.). Etymology: ME f. OE aceocian f. ceoce, cece CHEEK 2. n. the centre part of an artichoke. Etymology: prob. confusion of the ending of artichoke with CHOKE(1)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Choke Choke, v. i. 1. To have the windpipe stopped; to have a spasm of the throat, caused by stoppage or irritation of the windpipe; to be strangled. 2. To be checked, as if by choking; to stick. The words choked in his throat. --Sir W. Scott.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Choke Choke, n. 1. A stoppage or irritation of the windpipe, producing the feeling of strangulation. 2. (Gun.) (a) The tied end of a cartridge. (b) A constriction in the bore of a shotgun, case of a rocket, etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Choke Choke, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Choked; p. pr. & vb. n. Choking.] [OE. cheken, choken; cf. AS. [=a]ceocian to suffocate, Icel. koka to gulp, E. chincough, cough.] 1. To render unable to breathe by filling, pressing upon, or squeezing the windpipe; to stifle; to suffocate; to strangle. With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder. --Shak. 2. To obstruct by filling up or clogging any passage; to block up. --Addison. 3. To hinder or check, as growth, expansion, progress, etc.; to stifle. Oats and darnel choke the rising corn. --Dryden. 4. To affect with a sense of strangulation by passion or strong feeling. ``I was choked at this word.'' --Swift. 5. To make a choke, as in a cartridge, or in the bore of the barrel of a shotgun. To choke off, to stop a person in the execution of a purpose; as, to choke off a speaker by uproar.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(chokes, choking, choked) 1. When you choke or when something chokes you, you cannot breathe properly or get enough air into your lungs. The coffee was almost too hot to swallow and made him choke for a moment... A small child could choke on the doll's hair... Dense smoke swirled and billowed, its rank fumes choking her... The girl choked to death after breathing in smoke... Within minutes the hall was full of choking smoke. VERB: V, V on n, V n, V to n, V-ing 2. To choke someone means to squeeze their neck until they are dead. The men pushed him into the entrance of a nearby building where they choked him with his tie. = strangle VERB: V n 3. If a place is choked with things or people, it is full of them and they prevent movement in it. The village's roads are choked with traffic... His pond has been choked by the fast-growing weed. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed with n, be V-ed by n 4. The choke in a car, truck, or other vehicle is a device that reduces the amount of air going into the engine and makes it easier to start. N-COUNT: usu sing, usu the N

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

chok (pnigo, and its compounds): Is used in its primary sense of "to strangle," or "to suffocate," in describing the fate of the swine (Lu 8:33 the King James Version). The Revised Version (British and American) has "drowned," but "choked" is the correct rendering of the Greek word.

Figurative: It is used in the sense of "to strangle" "smother," "suffocate," as if by depriving of breath, in describing the fate of the young grain growing in the midst of thorns (Mt 13:7). The figurative is carried a little farther still in describing the way the word, planted in the heart, is overcome by the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches (Mt 13:22).

A. W. Fortune

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Suffocate, stifle, smother, strangle, throttle. 2. Suppress, overpower, overcome, stifle, smother, keep down. 3. Obstruct, close, block, stop, bar. II. v. n. Be choked, strangle, suffocate.

Moby Thesaurus

OD, asphyxia, asphyxiate, asphyxiation, bake, bang, bar, barricade, batten, batten down, be in heat, be killed, bind, blaze, block, block up, blockade, bloom, blow out, boil, bolt, broil, bung, burke, burking, burn, button, button up, caulk, charge, chink, chock, choke off, choke up, choking, clap, clog, clog up, close, close off, close tight, close up, combust, congest, constipate, constrict, contain, contract, cook, cork, cover, cram, crowd, cut off, dam, dam up, damp, debar, deny, discourage, dissuade, dog, douse, drench, drown, drowning, dumbfound, extinguish, famish, fasten, fill, fill up, flame, flame up, flare, flare up, flicker, flush, fold, fold up, foul, frustrate, fry, gag, garotte, garrote, garrotte, gasp, glow, glut, gluttonize, gorge, heap, hush, hush-hush, incandesce, jam, jam-pack, key, killing, latch, liver death, load, lock, lock out, lock up, megadeath, muffle, muzzle, obstipate, obstruct, obviate, occlude, out, overburden, overcharge, overfeed, overfill, overlade, overload, overstuff, overweight, pack, padlock, pant, parch, pile, plug, plug up, plumb, prohibit, put down, put out, put to silence, quash, quell, quench, quiet, quieten, radiate heat, repress, restrain, roast, satiate, saturate, scald, scorch, seal, seal off, seal up, secure, seethe, serum death, shimmer with heat, shush, shut, shut down on, shut off, shut out, shut the door, shut tight, shut up, silence, simmer, slack, slam, smolder, smother, smotheration, smothering, snap, snuff, snuff out, soak, soft-pedal, spark, spile, squash, squeeze, squeeze shut, squelch, stamp out, stanch, starvation, starve, stay, steam, stench, stew, stifle, stifling, still, stop, stop the breath, stop up, stopper, stopple, strangle, strangling, strangulate, strangulation, strike dumb, stuff, stuff up, suffocate, suffocation, supercharge, supersaturate, suppress, surcharge, surfeit, sweat, swelter, throttle, throttling, toast, trample out, trample underfoot, violent death, watery grave, zip up, zipper