chokes

Noun

choke (plural chokes)

1. A control on a carburetor to adjust the air/fuel mixture when the engine is cold.
   • Bond leapt for the Bentley, blessing the impulse which had made him drive it over after dinner. With the choke full out, the engine answered at once to the starter and the roar drowned the faltering words of the commissionaire who jumped aside as the rear wheels whipped gravel at his piped...1953, Ian Fleming, “Black Hare and Grey Hound”, in Casino Royale, London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 104
2. In wrestling, karate (etc.), a type of hold that can result in strangulation.
3. A constriction at the muzzle end of a shotgun barrel which affects the spread of the shot.
4. A partial or complete blockage (of boulders, mud, etc.) in a cave passage.
5. A choking coil.
6. A major mistake at a crucial stage of a competition because one is nervous, especially when one is winning.

See all 22 meanings of choke