1. (

• choking

) a condition caused by blocking the airways to the lungs (as with food or swelling of the larynx) ;

2. (

• choking ,
• strangling ,
• strangulation ,
• throttling

) the act of suffocating (someone) by constricting the windpipe; "no evidence that the choking was done by the accused" ;

1. (

• choke

) breathe with great difficulty, as when experiencing a strong emotion; "She choked with emotion when she spoke about her deceased husband" ;

2. (

• choke ,
• gag ,
• fret ,

) be too tight; rub or press; "This neckband is choking the cat" ;

3. (

• choke ,
• scrag ,

) wring the neck of; "The man choked his opponent" ;

4. (

• choke ,
• strangle ,

) constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing ;

5. (

• gag ,
• choke ,
• strangle ,
• suffocate ,

) struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; "he swallowed a fishbone and gagged" ;

6. (

• choke ,

) 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. (

• choke

) check or slow down the action or effect of; "She choked her anger" ;

8. (

• clog ,
• choke_off ,
• clog_up ,
• back_up ,
• congest ,
• choke ,
• foul

) become or cause to become obstructed; "The leaves clog our drains in the Fall"; "The water pipe is backed up" ;

9. (

• suffocate ,
• stifle ,
• asphyxiate ,
• choke ,

) impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of; "The foul air was slowly suffocating the children" ;

10. (

• suffocate ,
• choke ,

) become stultified, suppressed, or stifled; "He is suffocating;

11. (

• suffocate ,
• choke ,

) suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of; "His job suffocated him" ;

12. (

• 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

) 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" ;

13. (

• choke ,
• throttle

) reduce the air supply; "choke a carburetor" ;

14. (

• gag ,
• choke ,

) cause to retch or choke ;