noun

1. A control on a carburetor to adjust the air/fuel mixture when the engine is cold.

2. 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.

verb

1. 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.”

2. 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.”

3. To obstruct (a passage, etc.) by filling it up or clogging it.

   “to choke a cave passage with boulders and mud”

Synonyms: asphyxiate, strangle, suffocate, throttle, block up, bung up, clog, congest