choke¹ / chōk/ • v. 1. [intr.] (of a person or animal) have severe difficulty in breathing because of a constricted or obstructed throat or a lack of air: Willie choked on a mouthful of soda. ∎  [tr.] hinder or obstruct the breathing of (a person or animal) in such a way. ∎  [tr.] retard the growth of or kill (a plant) by depriving it of light, air, or nourishment: the bracken will choke the wild gladiolus. ∎  [tr.] (often be choked with) fill (a passage or space), esp. so as to make movement difficult or impossible: the roads were choked with traffic. ∎  [tr.] prevent or suppress (the occurrence of something): higher rates of interest choke off investment demand.2. [tr.] (often be choked) overwhelm and make (someone) speechless with a strong and typically negative feeling or emotion: she was choked with angry emotion | [intr.] I just choked up reading it. ∎  [intr.] inf. (in sports) fail to perform at a crucial point of a game or contest owing to a failure of nerve.3. [tr.] enrich the fuel mixture in (a gasoline engine) by reducing the intake of air.• n. 1. a valve in the carburetor of a gasoline engine that is used to reduce the amount of air in the fuel mixture when the engine is started. ∎  a knob that controls such a valve. ∎  a narrowed part of a shotgun bore, typically near the muzzle and serving to restrict the spread of the shot. ∎  inf. an electrical inductor, esp. an inductance coil used to smooth the variations of an alternating current or to alter its phase.2. an action or sound of a person or animal having or seeming to have difficulty in breathing: a little choke of laughter.PHRASAL VERBS: choke something back suppress a strong emotion or the expression of such an emotion.choke something down swallow something with difficulty.choke up (in sports) grip (a bat, racket, etc.) further from the narrow end than is usual: he choked up on the bat.choke² • n. the inedible mass of silky fibers at the center of a globe artichoke.

Choke ★½ 2000 (R)

Weak thriller with dumb dialogue. Shady businessman Harry (Hopper) is trying to cover up his daughter's deadly drunken hit-and-run accident when he's threatened by a con man who knows about the crime. Then Harry just makes the situation worse by accepting the help of a killer (Madsen) who knows how to get rid of troublesome bodies. 95m/C VHS, DVD . Dennis Hopper, Michael Madsen, L.P. Brown III, Chelsy Reynolds, Roy Tate; D: John Sjogren. VIDEO

choke ME. cheke, choke, aphetic of acheke, achoke :- late OE. āċēocian (once), f. ā- A- 3 + ċē(o)ce jaw, CHEEK.