as in to choke
to keep (someone) from breathing by exerting pressure on the windpipe
I was so angry at what he was saying that I could have throttled him!
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Recent Examples of throttle
Last season, the Bills throttled the visiting Broncos 31-7 in the wild-card round.
—
Mike Jones, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
Health care costs have risen dramatically faster than the spending cap set by TABOR, which in turn throttles other aspects of the state budget.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 14 Jan. 2026
The 49ers opened the week as bigger underdogs against the top-seeded Seahawks, who throttled San Francisco 13-3 at Levi’s Stadium two weeks ago.
—Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 13 Jan. 2026
And a federal immigration crackdown complicated a local worker shortage, perhaps throttling employment growth.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 13 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for throttle
Mike Jones, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
Health care costs have risen dramatically faster than the spending cap set by TABOR, which in turn throttles other aspects of the state budget.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 14 Jan. 2026
The 49ers opened the week as bigger underdogs against the top-seeded Seahawks, who throttled San Francisco 13-3 at Levi’s Stadium two weeks ago.
—Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 13 Jan. 2026
And a federal immigration crackdown complicated a local worker shortage, perhaps throttling employment growth.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 13 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for throttle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for throttle
Verb
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The petition, which was granted by a federal judge, cites reports alleging that guards at the facility choked and asphyxiated Campos.—
Laura Romero,
ABC News,
23 Jan. 2026
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In a brain stroke, human tissues die quickly when deprived of oxygen and choked by waste.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Fujita was 20 in 2013 when he was found guilty of strangling and stabbing his former high school girlfriend to death in Wayland.—
Matt Schooley,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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Mostly, though, Boland strangles batters with his suffocating and deadly-accurate line and length.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Throttle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/throttle. Accessed 25 Jan. 2026.
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