garrote

variants or garotte
Definition of garrotenext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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
  • Fujita was 20 in 2013 when he was found guilty of strangling and stabbing his former high school girlfriend to death in Wayland.
    Matt Schooley, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
  • Mostly, though, Boland strangles batters with his suffocating and deadly-accurate line and length.
    Tim Spiers, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • This isn't the first time - or even the second - Johnson has used his training to save a child from choking.
    Nick Caloway, CBS News, 10 Jan. 2026
  • Local news outlets, however, reported that the actor has been in an intensive care unit at a hospital in Seoul after collapsing while choking on food at his home.
    Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 5 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • And a federal immigration crackdown complicated a local worker shortage, perhaps throttling employment growth.
    Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Luka Garza’s minutes didn’t always go well early in the campaign, but the Boston bench has throttled teams lately with him on the court.
    Jared Weiss, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Garrote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/garrote. Accessed 23 Jan. 2026.

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