Word.ws English Dictionary

full-throttle

full-throttle is the alternative form of full throttle.

Meaning of full throttle

Noun

full throttle (countable and uncountable, plural full throttles)

  1. A maximum setting on an engine or motor control: especially, the totally open position of a valve for air intake, but also any corresponding maximum setting.
    • there was no further sign of any Nazi planes, Perry banked southward and went roaring home to Base on full throttles1943, Johnston Carroll, “Wings of the North”, in Leo Margulies, editor, Flying Wildcats, page 127
    Antonyms:
    idle, idling
  2. (figuratively) A maximum level of speed, effort, or risk.
    • I'm in the full throttles of an embrace and this is wonderful.1999, David M. Jacobs, The Threat: Revealing the Secret Alien Agenda, page 228
    Synonyms:
    top gear, overdrive
    Antonyms:
    low gear

See all 3 meanings of full throttle

Forms of full-throttle

comparativemore full-throttle
superlativemost full-throttle

Origin of full-throttle

From full + throttle.

Questions about full-throttle

What is full-throttle the alternative form of?
Full-throttle is the alternative form of full throttle.

Words near full-throttle in the dictionary

  1. full-stops
  2. full-stretch
  3. full-summed
  4. full-throated
  5. full-throatedly
  6. full-throttle
  7. full-tilt boogie
  8. full-time
  9. full-time equivalent
  10. full-time equivalents
  11. full-time job

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: full-throttle (page history and authors); full throttle (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “full-throttle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/full-throttle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.