Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

choke

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
verb American English pronunciation: choke /tʃoʊk/ 
Word Forms
Close
present tense
I/you/we/theychoke
he/she/itchokes
present participlechoking
past tensechoked
past participlechoked
 
  1. 1
    [intransitive/transitive] Sound effect: choke 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:

    There was a choking smog in Los Angeles yesterday.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  chokeThesaurus entry for this meaning of choke
  2. 2
    [transitive] to squeeze someone’s neck so they cannot breathe

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

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  chokeThesaurus entry for this meaning of choke
  3. 3

    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.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  chokeThesaurus entry for this meaning of choke
  4. 4
    [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.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  chokeThesaurus entry for this meaning of choke
    1. a.
      [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.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  chokeThesaurus entry for this meaning of choke
  5. 5
    [intransitive] informal to fail to achieve something, especially because you lose confidence

    Jordan seemed to choke and missed three easy shots.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  chokeThesaurus entry for this meaning of choke
  7. 7

    choke

     or

    choke off

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

    Business leaders claim that the strong dollar is choking exports.

    If prices are too high, demand is choked off.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  chokeThesaurus entry for this meaning of choke

This is the American English definition of choke. View British English definition of choke.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

 

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

simile

a phrase that describes something by comparing it to something else using the word...

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog