as in strangles
to keep (someone) from breathing by exerting pressure on the windpipe
I was so angry at what he was saying that I could have throttled him!
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Recent Examples of throttles
Gordon throttles Rankin, establishes six man dynasty Gordon defeated Rankin 69-22 in the Class 1A Division I six man state championship with a walk off touchdown Wednesday to claim its third consecutive state title.
—
Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Dec. 2025
Bills defense throttles Steelers offense Buffalo survived, little thanks to its offense.
—The Athletic Nfl Staff, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025
As the West throttles its science, China is racing ahead.
—Michael Jäger, Boston Herald, 22 Nov. 2025
Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Dec. 2025
Bills defense throttles Steelers offense Buffalo survived, little thanks to its offense.
—The Athletic Nfl Staff, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025
As the West throttles its science, China is racing ahead.
—Michael Jäger, Boston Herald, 22 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for throttles
Verb
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Mostly, though, Boland strangles batters with his suffocating and deadly-accurate line and length.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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What starts as an innocent father/daughter college visit takes a shocking turn when Tony brutally strangles a Mob turncoat.—
Dan Snierson,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Physical bullying happens when a child hits, kicks, trips, pushes, chokes or otherwise hurts another child.—
Dr. Mahvash Madni,
Boston Herald,
4 Jan. 2026
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Left to die, breathless and alone, Invisigal chokes while Robert screams from the other end of the comms.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Throttles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/throttles. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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