Stranglehold

noun, verb

noun, verb ·3 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A grip or control so strong as to stifle or cut off.

    "For years the company had a stranglehold on the rest of the industry."

  2. 2
    a wrestling hold in which the arms are pressed against the opponent's windpipe wordnet
  3. 3
    complete power over a person or situation wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To hold a tight grip or control. transitive

    ""She does not hold a partner; she strangleholds him. As soon as a man realizes how tightly she holds on, he leaves her.""

Synonyms

All synonyms
chokeholdthrottleholdarrestarrestationarrestmentbear hug

Example

More examples

"The CSU political party now has a stranglehold on Bavaria, after having won every seat in the region during the last election."

Etymology

From strangle + hold.

Related phrases

cut off

More for "stranglehold"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.