choking

adjective

chok·​ing ˈchō-kiŋ 

1

: producing the feeling of strangulation

a choking cloud of smog

2

: indistinct in utterance

—used especially of a person's voice

a low choking laugh

chokingly

ˈchō-kiŋ-lē 

adverb

Examples of choking in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Much of Europe is looking at the skies with trepidation, wondering if the winds and weather will bring more choking heat, or hail or floods. —New York Times, 13 Aug. 2021

None of this is to say that parents and political leaders need to whip up a moral panic about choking memes. —Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 23 Dec. 2022

Borrowing cost increases usually weigh on stocks, since the moves aim to slash inflation by slowing the economy and choking demand. —Max Zahn, ABC News, 15 Dec. 2022

All these artists were keen on undoing the stifling prescriptions of modern art, high or low, entrenched within a mass media environment dependent on the choking proliferation of stereotypes and cliches. —Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2022

And bully sticks can be a choking hazard if they're not chewed properly. —Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 23 Oct. 2022

The choking feeling soon passed, but the fifty-two-year-old Londoner was left with a familiar drag of depression and dread. —Kathryn Hughes, The New York Review of Books, 19 Oct. 2022

Water beads are also a choking hazard, especially for children 3 years old or younger. —CBS News, 30 Nov. 2022

Then our experts check for pinch points (spots on a toy where a small child could hurt a finger) and conduct a drop test to be certain the toy won't shatter into small pieces with sharp edges or pose a choking hazard. —Jessica Hartshorn, Good Housekeeping, 28 Nov. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1556, in the meaning defined at sense 1