choke up

verb

choked up; choking up; chokes up

1

: to have trouble talking because of crying or strong emotion

He chokes up whenever he tries to talk about the accident.

2

baseball : to move one's hands to a higher position on a baseball bat

—often + on

He choked up on the bat and took a short swing.

Examples of choke up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Either way, his one swing, with his hands choked up a few inches on his bat, lives on in its own pantheon of franchise lore. —Zack Meisel, New York Times, 15 May 2026

Edwards allegedly wrote a poem for a female staffer and read it aloud at her going-away party attended by the whole office, growing teary and choked up while reading beside a slideshow depicting photos of himself and the staffer, according to the report. —Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 14 May 2026

Recalling the conversation, the former shortstop choked up with emotion and buried his face in his hands. —Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026

Somehow, Kopitar managed to keep his emotions together while delivering comments that most dads out there wouldn't have been able to get through without choking up. —Mark Harris Outkick, FOXNews.com, 28 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for choke up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup