suffocate

Etymology

From Latin suffōcāre, from sub- (“under, up to”) + fōx (“throat”)

verb

1. (ergative) To suffer, or cause someone to suffer, from severely reduced oxygen intake to the body.
   Open the hatch, he is suffocating in the airlock!
   It is because of freedom, one netizen replied: Like air, you may not realize its importance, but when suffocating, you would know how precious it is. November 2, 2020, Jiu Xiao, “Chinese Communist Party Officials Push Anti-U.S. Propaganda While Sending Families to Live in the U.S.”, in Minghui
2. (ergative) To die due to, or kill someone by means of, insufficient oxygen supply to the body.
   He suffocated his wife by holding a pillow over her head.
3. (ergative, figurative) To overwhelm, or be overwhelmed (by a person or issue), as though with oxygen deprivation.
   I'm suffocating under this huge workload.
   If the trend to private cars continues, the more quickly will the road traffic suffocate itself, …. 1962 April, “London Airport rail link”, in Modern Railways, page 222
4. (transitive) To destroy; to extinguish.
   to suffocate fire

adj

1. (obsolete) Suffocated; choked.