Meaning & use
choke
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To be unable to breathe properly because something blocks the throat, or to stop someone breathing by squeezing their throat.
Grammar: Intransitive when it happens to you: he choked. Transitive when someone does it to another: she choked him.
Patterns
- choke on something
- choke someone
The toddler began to choke on a grape.
Smoke made the firefighters cough and choke.
The attacker tried to choke him from behind.
verbintransitiveinformal
To fail at a moment of pressure because of nerves, even though you are normally good at the task.
Grammar: No object: the team choked in the final.
Patterns
- choke under pressure
- choke in the final
The favorite choked in the last set and lost.
I always choke during job interviews.
She choked on the high note at the audition.
verbtransitive
To fill or block a passage or space so that movement or growth is held back.
Grammar: Often passive or followed by 'with': the drain was choked with leaves.
Patterns
- choke something with something
- be choked with something
Weeds choked the vegetable garden.
The road was choked with traffic.
Fallen leaves choked the stream.
Word forms
| third person singular | chokes |
|---|---|
| past tense | choked |
| past participle | choked |
| -ing form | choking |
Common combinations
- choke on food
- He nearly choked on a fish bone.
- choke back tears
- She choked back tears as she read the letter.
- choke under pressure
- Some players choke under pressure.
- choke the life out of
- High rent choked the life out of the small shop.
- choking hazard
- Small toys are a choking hazard for babies.
- choked with traffic
- The city center was choked with traffic.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gag
- Gag stresses the throat reflex that makes you want to vomit, not a blocked airway.
- suffocate
- Suffocate means to be unable to get air for any reason, so it is wider than choke, which points to the throat.
- strangle
- Strangle always means someone squeezes the neck, while choke can also happen by accident.
- flop
- Flop describes failing in general, while choke implies failing specifically because of nerves.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: choke or chuck?
choke vs chuck
Chuck means to throw something casually and has nothing to do with breathing or nerves.
Practice
The goalkeeper was brilliant all season but ____ in the final and let in three easy goals.
Choose one answer.
Choked means failed under pressure. Flourished and soared mean the opposite, and persisted does not explain the sudden failure.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “choke”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.