What does "choke" mean?
A control on a carburetor to adjust the air/fuel mixture when the engine is cold.
Choke
/t͡ʃəʊk/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A control on a carburetor to adjust the air/fuel mixture when the engine is cold.
- Grammar: choke is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: accelerator, arrest, asphyxia, asphyxiate.
- Useful contrasts: breathe easily, clear airway, clearance.
- Usage evidence: Carol couldn't choke back her tears.
How to use "choke"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "choke" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "choke" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "choke" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "choke" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "choke" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "accelerator" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "choke", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A control on a carburetor to adjust the air/fuel mixture when the engine is cold.
- 2 The mass of immature florets in the centre of the bud of an artichoke.
"Once all the leaves are gone, a hairy little island will remain in the middle of the artichoke. This is the “choke.” A gentleman uses his knife and fork to slice it away, uncovering the delicious artichoke “heart” underneath."
- 3 a valve that controls the flow of air into the carburetor of a gasoline engine wordnet
- 4 In wrestling, karate (etc.), a type of hold that can result in strangulation.
- 5 a coil of low resistance and high inductance used in electrical circuits to pass direct current and attenuate alternating current wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A constriction at the muzzle end of a shotgun barrel which affects the spread of the shot.
- 7 A partial or complete blockage (of boulders, mud, etc.) in a cave passage.
- 8 A choking coil.
- 9 A major mistake at a crucial stage of a competition because one is nervous, especially when one is winning.
Verb
- 1 To be unable to breathe because of obstruction of the windpipe (for instance food or other objects that go down the wrong way, or fumes or particles in the air that cause the throat to constrict). intransitive
"Ever since he choked on a bone, he has refused to eat fish."
- 2 breathe with great difficulty, as when experiencing a strong emotion wordnet
- 3 To prevent (someone) from breathing or talking by strangling or filling the windpipe. transitive
"The collar of this shirt is too tight; it’s choking me."
- 4 cause to retch or choke wordnet
- 5 To obstruct (a passage, etc.) by filling it up or clogging it. transitive
"to choke a cave passage with boulders and mud"
Show 24 more definitions
- 6 struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake wordnet
- 7 To hinder or check, as growth, expansion, progress, etc.; to kill (a plant by robbing it of nutrients); to extinguish (fire by robbing it of oxygen). transitive
"Now ’tis the spring, and weeds are shallow-rooted; Suffer them now, and they’ll o’ergrow the garden And choke the herbs for want of husbandry."
- 8 constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing wordnet
- 9 To perform badly at a crucial stage of a competition, especially when one appears to be clearly winning. colloquial, intransitive
"He has a lot of talent, but he tends to choke under pressure."
- 10 reduce the air supply wordnet
- 11 To move one's fingers very close to the tip of a pencil, brush or other art tool. transitive
"A brief tryout will demonstrate that the modified grip does indeed make it difficult to “choke” the pencil or apply excessive pressure to the paper."
- 12 pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life wordnet
- 13 To hold the club or bat lower on the shaft in order to shorten one's swing. transitive
"Take a grip with your right hand, slightly choked down from your normal grip."
- 14 suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of wordnet
- 15 To be checked or stopped, as if by choking intransitive
"[…] the words choked in his throat."
- 16 become stultified, suppressed, or stifled wordnet
- 17 To check or stop (an utterance or voice) as if by choking. transitive
"A hundred times fain he would have spoke, but still his rising Passion choak’d his Words;"
- 18 impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of wordnet
- 19 To have a feeling of strangulation in one's throat as a result of passion or strong emotion. intransitive
"Grobstock began to choke with chagrin."
- 20 become or cause to become obstructed wordnet
- 21 To give (someone) a feeling of strangulation as a result of passion or strong emotion. transitive
"[…] I am very sensible how much the Gentlemen of Wit and Pleasure are apt to murmur, and be choqued at the Sight of so many daggled-tail Parsons, who happen to fall in their Way, and offend their Eyes […]"
- 22 be too tight; rub or press wordnet
- 23 To say (something) with one’s throat constricted (due to emotion, for example). transitive
"‘There is the padre!’ Kim choked as bare-headed Father Victor sailed down upon them from the veranda."
- 24 wring the neck of wordnet
- 25 To use the choke valve of (a vehicle) to adjust the air/fuel mixture in the engine. transitive
"The engine caught, spluttered, and roared as Tom choked the car delicately."
- 26 check or slow down the action or effect of wordnet
- 27 To reach a condition of maximum flowrate, due to the flow at the narrowest point of the duct becoming sonic (Ma = 1). intransitive
- 28 fail to perform adequately due to tension or agitation wordnet
- 29 To make or install a choke, as in a cartridge, or in the bore of the barrel of a shotgun.
Example
"Carol couldn't choke back her tears."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "choke"?
Common synonyms include: accelerator, arrest, asphyxia, asphyxiate, asphyxiate, asphyxiated.
How do you use "choke" in a sentence?
Carol couldn't choke back her tears.
How do you pronounce "choke"?
Pronounced /t͡ʃəʊk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English choken (also cheken), from earlier acheken, from Old English āċēocian (“to choke”), probably derived from Old English ċēoce, ċēace (“jaw, cheek”), see cheek. Cognate with Icelandic kok (“throat”), koka (“to gulp”). See also achoke.
Etymology 2
Back-formation from artichoke.