choke
verb /tʃəʊk/
/tʃəʊk/
Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they choke | /tʃəʊk/ /tʃəʊk/ |
| he / she / it chokes | /tʃəʊks/ /tʃəʊks/ |
| past simple choked | /tʃəʊkt/ /tʃəʊkt/ |
| past participle choked | /tʃəʊkt/ /tʃəʊkt/ |
| -ing form choking | /ˈtʃəʊkɪŋ/ /ˈtʃəʊkɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to be unable to breathe because the passage to your lungs is blocked or you cannot get enough air; to make somebody unable to breathe
- She almost choked to death in the thick fumes.
- choke on something He was choking on a piece of toast.
- choke somebody Very small toys can choke a baby.
Extra Examples- My son nearly choked on one of those nuts.
- The fumes from the burning tyres made her choke.
- The device contains small parts which could easily choke a child.
- The water flooded his mouth, choking him.
- Thick clouds of dust choked him.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- almost
- nearly
- make somebody
- on
- choke (somebody) to death
- [transitive] choke somebody to make somebody stop breathing by pressing their throat, especially with your fingers synonym strangle
- He may have been choked or poisoned.
- She had been choked to death when her necklace snagged on overhanging branches.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- almost
- nearly
- make somebody
- on
- choke (somebody) to death
- [intransitive, transitive] to be unable to speak normally especially because of strong emotion; to make somebody feel too emotional to speak normally
- choke (with something) His voice was choking with rage.
- choke something Despair choked her words.
- ‘I can't bear it,’ he said in a choked voice.
- choke somebody The panic rising in his throat threatened to choke him.
- [transitive, usually passive] to block or fill a passage, space, etc. so that movement is difficult
- be choked with something The pond was choked with rotten leaves.
- be choked up with something The roads are choked up with traffic.
- In summer the roads around the town are choked up with traffic.
- [intransitive] (informal) to fail at something, for example because you are nervous
- We were the only team not to choke at the big moment.
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old English ācēocian (verb), from cēoce ‘cheek, jaw’, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch kaak.