choke

I UK [tʃəʊk] / US [tʃoʊk] verb
Word forms "choke":
present tense I/you/we/they choke he/she/it chokes present participle choking past tense choked past participle choked
*

1) [intransitive/transitive] if you choke, or if something chokes you, you cannot breathe because there is not enough air or because something is blocking your throat

Joe took a bite of the steak and started to choke.

choke on:

Ruth almost choked on a mouthful of cake.

choke to death:

The four-year-old choked to death after swallowing a coin.

choking smoke/fumes/smog:

The room was filled with choking fumes.

2) [transitive] to squeeze someone's neck so they cannot breathe

Charlie wanted to take Herrick by the throat and choke him to death.

3)

a) [intransitive] if your voice chokes, you cannot speak clearly, usually because of a strong emotion or because you are laughing

choke with:

Her voice choked with emotion when she spoke of the sister she had lost.

b) [transitive] to say something in a strange voice and with difficulty because you are frightened, angry, sad etc

"I don't want to be your secretary!" she choked.

4) choke or choke up

[transitive] to fill a place so that it is difficult to move choke with:

We live in cities that are choked with traffic.

5) choke or choke off

[transitive] to stop someone or something from developing or being successful

Business leaders claim that the strong pound is choking exports.

If prices are too high, demand is choked off.

6) [transitive] if stronger plants choke weaker ones, they surround them and stop them from growing

The weeds quickly choke less robust plants.

7) [intransitive] informal to fail to achieve something, especially because you lose confidence

Jordan seemed to choke and missed three easy shots.

Phrasal verbs:

- choke back

- choke down

- choke off

- choke up

II UK [tʃəʊk] / US [tʃoʊk] noun
Word forms "choke":
singular choke plural chokes

1)

a) [countable] the part of a vehicle that helps it to start by reducing the amount of air going into the engine

b) [uncountable] the reduction of air going into an engine, achieved by using a choke

2) [countable] the action or sound of choking