choke

(noun) a coil of low resistance and high inductance used in electrical circuits to pass direct current and attenuate alternating current. Synonyms: choke coil, choking coil.

(noun) a valve that controls the flow of air into the carburetor of a gasoline engine.

(verb) breathe with great difficulty, as when experiencing a strong emotion. Examples: "She choked with emotion when she spoke about her deceased husband."

(verb) be too tight; rub or press. Synonyms: gag, fret. Examples: "This neckband is choking the cat."

(verb) wring the neck of. Synonyms: scrag. Examples: "The man choked his opponent."

(verb) constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing. Synonyms: strangle.

(verb) struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake. Synonyms: gag, strangle, suffocate. Examples: "He swallowed a fishbone and gagged."

(verb) fail to perform adequately due to tension or agitation. Examples: "The team should have won hands down but choked, disappointing the coach and the audience."

(verb) check or slow down the action or effect of. Examples: "She choked her anger."

(verb) become or cause to become obstructed. Synonyms: clog, choke off, clog up, back up, congest, foul. Examples: "The leaves clog our drains in the fall." "The water pipe is backed up."

(verb) impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of. Synonyms: suffocate, stifle, asphyxiate. Examples: "The foul air was slowly suffocating the children."

(verb) become stultified, suppressed, or stifled. Synonyms: suffocate. Examples: "He is suffocating--living at home with his aged parents in the small village."

(verb) suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of. Synonyms: suffocate. Examples: "His job suffocated him."

(verb) pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life. Synonyms: 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, croak, snuff it. Examples: "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."

(verb) reduce the air supply. Synonyms: throttle. Examples: "Choke a carburetor."

(verb) cause to retch or choke. Synonyms: gag.