chokehold

Noun

• a restraining hold; someone loops the arm around the neck of another person in a tight grip, usually from behind
  • he grabbed the woman in a chokehold, demanded her cash and jewelry, and then fled
    

• complete power over a person or situation
  • corporations have a stranglehold on the media
    
  • the president applied a chokehold to labor disputes that inconvenienced the public
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  choke hold , stranglehold , throttlehold