Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act of causing someone to stop breathing by squeezing or blocking their throat: "choking" refers to the action of suffocating a person by applying pressure to or obstructing the windpipe.
   • The state of having one's breathing blocked: "choking" also describes the condition where the airways to the lungs are obstructed, for example by food or swelling.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The coroner's report listed the cause of death as choking.
  • He saved his friend from choking by performing the Heimlich maneuver.
  • A piece of candy can cause choking in small children.

Advanced Usage

• "choking hazard": a risk or danger that an object could block someone's airway.
  • The toy was recalled because it was a choking hazard for kids under three.
• "choking back tears/emotion": struggling to suppress or control strong feelings, often causing a physical sensation in the throat.
  • She was choking back tears as she gave her farewell speech.

Variants and Related Words

• Choke (verb): to have great difficulty breathing because of a constricted or obstructed throat; to cause someone to have this difficulty.
  • He started to choke on a piece of meat.
• Choker (noun): a close-fitting necklace or band worn around the neck.
• Choked (adjective): (of a voice) sounding strained due to emotion; (of a passage) clogged or blocked.
  • She answered in a choked whisper.

Synonyms

• Strangulation: the action of killing someone by squeezing their throat.
• Suffocation: the state or process of dying from being deprived of air.
• Throttling: the act of choking or strangling someone.

Related Phrases

• Choke off: to stop or restrict something.
  • The new regulations could choke off economic growth.
• Choke up: to become too emotional to speak.
  • He choked up while talking about his late father.

Related Idioms

• Choke the life out of something: to suppress or destroy something completely.
  • Bureaucracy is choking the life out of innovation in that department.

Noun

1. the act of suffocating (someone) by constricting the windpipe
   • no evidence that the choking was done by the accused
2. a condition caused by blocking the airways to the lungs (as with food or swelling of the larynx)