garrote

variants or garotte
as in to strangle
to keep (someone) from breathing by exerting pressure on the windpipe the goons sent by the loan shark threatened to garrote the hero with his own necktie

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of garrote That means the Senate's only practical effect is adding another point at which oligarch lobbyists can garrote popular policy. Ryan Cooper, The Week, 29 Oct. 2021 Tony, unhindered by any sense of moral anguish, garrotes the man in broad daylight with a length of cable. Adam Wilson, Harper's magazine, 16 Sep. 2019 Sometimes the line between good writing and bad writing can be as thin as the piano wire with which a madman garrotes his victims. Laura Miller, Slate Magazine, 15 Aug. 2017 Last year, he was garroted by saw briars—the vicious inch-long thorns that lace the course—which left bleeding gashes across his neck. George Pendle, Esquire, 26 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for garrote
Verb
  • From the outset of its full-scale invasion, Russia sought to strangle Ukraine’s economy by cutting off its maritime access.
    ANDRIY ZAGORODNYUK, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2025
  • That potential was strangled, Du Bois writes in this book, an essential look at governance and betrayal in America.
    Zephyr Teachout, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Foreign material in food products presents health risks, including choking, damage to teeth and digestive tract injury.
    Matthew Robinson, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025
  • The punishment was allegedly being body slammed and choked.
    DeMicia Inman, VIBE.com, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • In an industry throttled by changing demands and pressures, making small tweaks won’t prevent the worst risks of grid instability over the next 10 years.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Gophers 7, Eagles 1 The Gophers opened the season in fine form by throttling visiting Boston College 7-1 Thursday night.
    Theodore Tollefson, Twin Cities, 25 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Garrote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/garrote. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.

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