strangulation

noun

stran·​gu·​la·​tion ˌstraŋ-gyə-ˈlā-shən 

1

: the action or process of strangling or strangulating

2

: the state of being strangled or strangulated

especially : excessive or pathological constriction or compression of a bodily tube (such as a blood vessel or a loop of intestine) that interrupts its ability to act as a passage

Examples of strangulation in a Sentence

The cause of death was strangulation.

Recent Examples on the Web

Clancy, 36, is on trial for murder in the January 2023 strangulation deaths of her three children – Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months – at the family's Duxbury, Massachusetts, home. — Melina Khan, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026

Christopher White, 38, of Laconia, New Hampshire faces charges of risk of injury to a child, third-degree assault, second-degree strangulation and two counts of second-degree breach of peace, according to the North Branford Police Department. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 20 Aug. 2026

For some time, the world will be without any order at all—swept by fragmentation, contagion, and strangulation or the temptation to weaponize a wide variety of geographic, economic, and technological chokepoints. — Mark Leonard, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Prosecutors accused him of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder by strangulation. — John Wisely, Freep.com, 15 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1542, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for strangulation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

strangulation

noun

stran·​gu·​la·​tion ˌstraŋ-gyə-ˈlā-shən 

1

: an act or process of strangling

2

: the state of being strangled

Medical Definition

strangulation

noun

stran·​gu·​la·​tion ˌstraŋ-gyə-ˈlā-shən 

1

: the action or process of strangling or strangulating

2

: the state of being strangled or strangulated

especially : excessive or pathological constriction or compression of a bodily tube (as a blood vessel or a loop of intestine) that interrupts its ability to act as a passage