Definition of asphyxiate
asphyxiated;
asphyxiating
: to cause asphyxia in : to kill, suspend animation in, or make unconscious through want of adequate oxygen, presence of noxious agents, or other obstruction to normal breathing
- The murder victim was asphyxiated.
: to become asphyxiated
- … ended in several deaths, including that of a … secretary who asphyxiated during a smoke bombing.
- —Robert I. Friedman
