choke

Etymology 1

From Middle English choken (also cheken), from earlier acheken, from Old English āċēocian (“to choke”), probably derived from Old English ċēoce, ċēace (“jaw, cheek”), see cheek. Cognate with Icelandic kok (“throat”), koka (“to gulp”). See also achoke.

verb

1. (intransitive) To be unable to breathe because of obstruction of the windpipe (for instance food or other objects that go down the wrong way, or fumes or particles in the air that cause the throat to constrict).
   Ever since he choked on a bone, he has refused to eat fish.
   Lenore began to choke with the fine dust and to feel her eyes smart and to see it settle on her hands and dress. 1919, Zane Grey, chapter 6, in The Desert of Wheat, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, page 66
2. (transitive) To prevent (someone) from breathing or talking by strangling or filling the windpipe.
   The collar of this shirt is too tight; it’s choking me.
   The man became insane; he stood over me, choking me with one fist and beating me in the face with the other […] 1918, Willa Cather, chapter 15, in My Ántonia, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, pages 282–283
3. (transitive) To obstruct (a passage, etc.) by filling it up or clogging it.
   to choke a cave passage with boulders and mud
   This was a Passage, so rugged, so uneven, and choaked with so many Thorns and Briars, that it was a melancholy Spectacle to behold the Pains and Difficulties which both Sexes suffered who walked through it. 14 January 1709, Joseph Addison, “The lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff Esq.”, in The Tatler, volume 3, number 120, London, published 1712, page 31
   But at Christmas the pavements were crowded with overdressed shoppers from the country, the streets choked with slow but strident traffic. 1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, Penguin, published 1992, Part 2, Chapter 4, p. 492
   There have been predictions that within a few years all roads within a 17-mile radius of the Airport will be choked. 1962 April, “London Airport rail link”, in Modern Railways, page 222
   The waterfall is now a trickle, and the pool is choked with algae and drowned leaves and broken-off branches. 2012, Tan Twan Eng, chapter 13, in The Garden of Evening Mists, New York: Weinstein Books, page 168
4. (transitive) To hinder or check, as growth, expansion, progress, etc.; to kill (a plant by robbing it of nutrients); to extinguish (fire by robbing it of oxygen).
   1697, John Dryden (translator), “The Fifth Pastoral,” lines 55-56, in The Works of Virgil, London: Jacob Tonson, p. 22, No fruitful Crop the sickly Fields return; But Oats and Darnel choak the rising Corn.
   I have cut maize stalks or green plants with which he means to choke the flames. 1998, Nuruddin Farah, chapter 3, in Secrets, Penguin, published 1999, page 67
5. (intransitive, colloquial) To perform badly at a crucial stage of a competition, especially when one appears to be clearly winning.
   He has a lot of talent, but he tends to choke under pressure.
   2021, The Milwaukee Brewers choked in the playoffs:
   “I can’t say that I choked on those match points,” Williams said. “She literally played her best tennis ever on those shots.” 22 January 2019, “1 Point Away, Serena Stunned by Pliskova at Australian Open”, in The New York Times
6. (transitive) To move one's fingers very close to the tip of a pencil, brush or other art tool.
   A brief tryout will demonstrate that the modified grip does indeed make it difficult to “choke” the pencil or apply excessive pressure to the paper. 1973, Wayne Otto et al., chapter 13, in Corrective and Remedial Teaching, 2nd edition, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, page 361
7. (golf, baseball, transitive) To hold the club or bat lower on the shaft in order to shorten one's swing.
   Take a grip with your right hand, slightly choked down from your normal grip. 2014, Roger Fredericks, The Flexible Golf Swing, page 108
8. (intransitive) To be checked or stopped, as if by choking
   Speech choked in Eugene’s throat. 1929, Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel, New York: Modern Library, Part 3, Chapter 29, p. 413
9. (transitive) To check or stop (an utterance or voice) as if by choking.
   A hundred times fain he would have spoke, but still his rising Passion choak’d his Words; 1684, Aphra Behn, “The Amours of Philander and Silvia”, in Love-Letters between a Noble-man and his Sister, London, page 277
   Her laugh got choked by a sob. 1905, William John Locke, chapter 20, in The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne
   Danny let out a soft, half-choked, trembling moan. 1967, Chaim Potok, chapter 18, in The Chosen, New York: Ballantine, published 1982, page 282
10. (intransitive) To have a feeling of strangulation in one's throat as a result of passion or strong emotion.
    Grobstock began to choke with chagrin. 1894, Israel Zangwill, chapter 2, in The King of Schnorrers, New York: Macmillan, page 48
    2007, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Wizard of the Crow, New York: Knopf Doubleday, Book 3, p. 435, Tajirika felt himself choking with anger. How dare those hussies interfere with his business?
11. (transitive) To give (someone) a feeling of strangulation as a result of passion or strong emotion.
    […] I am very sensible how much the Gentlemen of Wit and Pleasure are apt to murmur, and be choqued at the Sight of so many daggled-tail Parsons, who happen to fall in their Way, and offend their Eyes […] 1712, Jonathan Swift, “An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity”, in The Works of J.S., volume 1, Dublin: George Faulkner, published 1735, page 104
    I shall run distracted. My rage choaks me. 1773, Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, London: F. Newbery, act IV, page 80
    Charlotte made herself stiff, controlling sudden choking emotion. 1971, Iris Murdoch, An Accidental Man, New York: Viking, page 42
12. (transitive) To say (something) with one’s throat constricted (due to emotion, for example).
    ‘There is the padre!’ Kim choked as bare-headed Father Victor sailed down upon them from the veranda. 1901, Rudyard Kipling, chapter 6, in Kim
    “The bastards!” he choked. “I hope they are all caught and hanged!” 1995, Rohinton Mistry, A Fine Balance, London: Faber and Faber, published 1997, Epilogue, p. 583
13. (transitive) To use the choke valve of (a vehicle) to adjust the air/fuel mixture in the engine.
    The engine caught, spluttered, and roared as Tom choked the car delicately. 1939, John Steinbeck, chapter 26, in The Grapes of Wrath, New York: Viking, published 1962, page 492
14. (intransitive, fluid mechanics, of a duct) To reach a condition of maximum flowrate, due to the flow at the narrowest point of the duct becoming sonic (Ma = 1).
15. To make or install a choke, as in a cartridge, or in the bore of the barrel of a shotgun.

noun

1. A control on a carburetor to adjust the air/fuel mixture when the engine is cold.
2. (sports) In wrestling, karate (etc.), a type of hold that can result in strangulation.
3. A constriction at the muzzle end of a shotgun barrel which affects the spread of the shot.
4. A partial or complete blockage (of boulders, mud, etc.) in a cave passage.
5. (electronics) A choking coil.
6. A major mistake at a crucial stage of a competition because one is nervous, especially when one is winning.

Etymology 2

Back-formation from artichoke.

noun

1. The mass of immature florets in the centre of the bud of an artichoke.
   Once all the leaves are gone, a hairy little island will remain in the middle of the artichoke. This is the “choke.” A gentleman uses his knife and fork to slice it away, uncovering the delicious artichoke “heart” underneath.] [2004, John Bridges, Bryan Curtis, A Gentleman at the Table, Thomas Nelson, page 60