throttling

noun

throt·​tling ˈthrät-liŋ 

ˈthrä-tᵊl-iŋ

plural throttlings

1

: the act or an instance of throttling something or someone: such as

a

: the suppression or prevention of an activity

… maintains that the dramatic relaxation of credit restrictions proposed by the Central Bank will inevitably result in hyperinflation, the throttling of economic reforms and the collapse of Western confidence in the Russian economy.

—Michael Dobbs

b

US, informal : a decisive defeat : rout

You missed an impressive, imposing 40-13 victory over Memphis … and a 61-17 throttling of FIU in the season opener.

—The Orlando Sentinel

2

: the activity or process of limiting the bandwidth available to users of an electronic communication systems (such as the Internet)

Slowing down data speeds after a customer reaches its monthly data limit is a common practice among internet service providers and cellular carriers that's known as throttling. Users can still access the cellular network for basic services like email or web browsing, but speeds are often too slow for activities like video streaming.

—Ryan Suppe

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Lime officials say the technology behind sidewalk throttling hasn’t advanced enough for it to be deployed widely by scooter companies, stressing that no other cities require it. —David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2023

Aislyn Kelliher/Nyla Lavoie, Plymouth North — After notching a 12-5 record together last season, the Eagles’ top doubles pair has notched three straight victories to begin 2023, including a straight-sets throttling of Quincy in Thursday’s 5-0 win. —Matty Wasserman, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Apr. 2023

Indianapolis Star Impressive was a ready adjective for Valparaiso's 64-29 throttling of Hobart in Indiana boys basketball on March 4. —Indy Star Sports, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Mar. 2023

Radford scored a game-high 30 points in Texas A&M’s 79-63 throttling of No. 15 Auburn, as the Tigers’ 28-game home winning streak — the longest active streak in the nation entering the night — and their five-game overall winning streak were thwarted at Neville Arena. —Tom Green | [e-mail], al, 26 Jan. 2023

The Carolina Panthers are hot in pursuit of the NFC South division title and the prize of hosting a home playoff game thanks to their throttling of the upstart Detroit Lions – who entered winners in six of their previous seven – on Saturday, 37-23. —Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAY, 25 Dec. 2022

An unexpected throttling, at that. —Dallas News, 1 Apr. 2022

Last year, Internet shutdowns cost the Iran economy $773 million—money that businesses lost during 130 hours of Internet throttling, 2,179 hours of Internet blackouts, and 4,863 hours of social media shutdowns. —Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 20 Mar. 2023

The count revealed the direct impact of the throttling of internet connectivity, with the number dropping from around 80 new clips on Sept. 21 to just 40 the day after. —Babak Dehghanpisheh, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1