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

Paul Schrader and the cast of The Basics of Philosophy got a warm reception at the film’s world premiere in Venice Friday night, with the 80-year-old director choking up as the credits rolled and the applause rose. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2026

Still, many folks get choked up the most over her response to a deadly 2016 wildfire. — Kimberlee Kruesi, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026

Once again, the longtime Today show co-host was described as getting choked up while praising his mom’s impact on his life. — Rachel McRady, PEOPLE, 19 Aug. 2026

No matter where, no matter when, Rick Jackson — the GOP billionaire candidate for Georgia governor — starts to choke up. — Patricia Murphy, AJC.com, 23 July 2026

Rhymes for choke up

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