1
as in strangles
to keep (someone) from breathing by exerting pressure on the windpipe
let go of my throat—you're choking me!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in smothers
to be or cause to be killed by lack of breathable air
thick, black smoke choked the trapped firefighters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in blocks
to prevent passage through by filling with something
overgrown bushes choked the narrow alleyway between the buildings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of chokes
Even the woman Larry falls for, Gwen (Evelyn Ankers), isn't immune to the animal's evil charms, and the creature nearly chokes the life out of her in one scene.
—
Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2025
Hybrid-resilient architecture—local backups that can kick in like muscle memory when the cloud chokes.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
On the ground, there’s a war of grappling, chokes, and limb breaks, and Oliveira is one of the best to ever fight it.
—Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 14 Jan. 2025
Broken baggage chokes landfills and decomposes at a glacial pace.
—Christopher Elliott, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024
Again, Dylan absolutely chokes.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 29 Nov. 2024
There’s a moment in the second film that really chokes me up.
—Jenelle Riley, Variety, 19 Oct. 2024
Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2025
Hybrid-resilient architecture—local backups that can kick in like muscle memory when the cloud chokes.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
On the ground, there’s a war of grappling, chokes, and limb breaks, and Oliveira is one of the best to ever fight it.
—Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 14 Jan. 2025
Broken baggage chokes landfills and decomposes at a glacial pace.
—Christopher Elliott, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024
Again, Dylan absolutely chokes.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 29 Nov. 2024
There’s a moment in the second film that really chokes me up.
—Jenelle Riley, Variety, 19 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chokes
Verb
-
What worked at ten employees strangles progress at one hundred.—
Brent Gleeson,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
At that point, both Hsiao-Lee’s life and our perspective open up toward something more hopeful, even if plenty of turmoil — including another unbearable scene in which Chiang nearly strangles Chuan to death — continues back home.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Cartman starts laughing so hard that he projectile vomits all over Thiel.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
16 Oct. 2025
-
That horrible mistake reveals itself several scenes later when Katie projectile vomits into her windshield.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Water molecules migrate toward the saltier side, but the membrane blocks salt ions from passing.—
Tejasri Gururaj,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Oct. 2025
-
So when a person takes, say, a high dose of the motion sickness drug scopolamine — which blocks the effects of acetylcholine — things start to go awry.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Don't tail large vehicles closely - Trucks or buses can kick up a water spray that obstructs visibility.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Don't tail large vehicles closely - Trucks or buses can kick up a water spray that obstructs visibility.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Traffic regularly jams the freeway into the city, and residents fight over efforts to build more homes.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
15 Oct. 2025
-
Someone breaks in, someone jams the signal from the home’s alarm system, someone monitors police radio traffic.—
Bebe Hodges,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
24 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Think about your own boxes to tick and narrow it down to one star dish that fills each quadrant of your dream plate.—
Editors of Bon Appétit,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
21 Oct. 2025
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The orchard fills an entire lot off Independence Avenue and Maple Boulevard, near Kansas City University, and sits on the Maple Flats apartment complex’s property.—
Chris Higgins,
Kansas City Star,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chokes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chokes. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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