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

But the recent aggressive suppression of digital freedoms including a major internet blackout and the throttling of a popular messaging app has led to rare calls for public display of discontent. —Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 2 Apr. 2026

That part is especially important because the majority of electric car battery packs (which are about five times bigger) use liquid cooling systems to maintain similar charging rates without thermal throttling. —New Atlas, 1 Apr. 2026

Included in that bucket of wins are two victories over Oklahoma City, one against San Antonio, one in Denver and a throttling of Toronto last week. —Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 9 Mar. 2026

Eight of those victories have been by double-digit scoring margins, and the last one was a thoroughly impressive national-TV throttling of Detroit on Cunningham’s home floor. —Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News, 24 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for throttling

• bottling
• mottling