throttling

noun

throt·​tling ˈthrä-tᵊl-iŋ 

ˈthrät-liŋ

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

Examples of throttling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

During testing, the battery life is remarkable and the display remained stable… Nubia still hasn't managed to fully address the additional heat, and software throttling will likely need to kick in sooner in some scenarios. —Ewan Spence, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2024

Clocking in at a throttling, threatening 148 BPM, the track is all kickdrum and relentless buzzaw bassline, adding up to a happily hectic, cathartically tough song that sounds like it’s got your head in a vice in the best kind of way. —Katie Bain, Billboard, 26 July 2024

That throttling is affecting rural hospitals like Labette Health, a Kansas hospital whose president asked President Joe Biden for help in dealing with the pharmaceutical companies. —Kff Health News, The Mercury News, 11 June 2024

The card reader features an effective heat sink that prevents thermal throttling, ensuring data continues to transfer at fast and reliable speeds. —Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1