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   choke

   /tʃəʊk/

   verb

   • 1. (of a person or animal) have severe difficulty in breathing because of a constricted or obstructed throat or a lack of air: "Willie choked on a mouthful of tea" Similar gagretchcoughstruggle for airfight for breathgasp
   • ▪ cause (a person or animal) to choke: "the toys contained parts that could choke a very young child" Similar suffocateasphyxiatesmotherstifleoverpowerovercomestranglethrottleasphyxiatesuffocateinformal:strangulate
   • ▪ prevent (a plant) from growing by depriving it of light, air, or nourishment: "the bracken will choke the wild gladiolus"
   • ▪ prevent or inhibit the occurrence or development of: "piracy will choke the creation and distribution of music"
   • ▪ (in sports) fail to perform at a crucial point of a game or contest as a result of nervousness: informal "we were the only team not to choke when it came to the crunch"
   • 2. fill (a space) so as to make movement difficult or impossible: "the roads were choked with traffic" Similar clog (up)bung upblockobstructstop upsilt upplugdam upcongestjaminformal:gunge uptechnical:occludeobturate
   • 3. make (someone) speechless with a strong feeling or emotion: "he was choked with fury"
   • 4. enrich the fuel mixture in (a petrol engine) by reducing the intake of air: "carbon monoxide results during a cold start, when an engine is choked"

   noun

   • 1. a valve in the carburettor of a petrol engine that is used to reduce the amount of air in the fuel mixture when the engine is started: "an automatic choke"
   • ▪ a knob which controls the choke in a carburettor: "he pulled the choke out to its full extent"
   • ▪ a narrowed part of a shotgun bore near the muzzle, serving to restrict the spread of the shot: "many guns may not have the right choke"
   • ▪ an inductance coil used to smooth the variations of an alternating current or to alter its phase.
   • 2. a sound produced by a person or animal having difficulty in breathing: "a little choke of laughter"

   Word Origin Middle English: from Old English ācēocian (verb), perhaps from cēoce (see cheek).

   Scrabble Points: 14

   • C

     3

   • H

     4

   • O

     1

   • K

     5

   • E

     1

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