full throttle
full throttle noun: 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.
Noun
full throttle (countable and uncountable, plural full throttles)
- 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
- its regs and serirs over which Land Rovers can race with full throttles and little chance of meeting any obstacle larger than a fist-sized stone.1975, John Innes Clarke, An Advanced Geography of Africa, page 43
- Synonyms:
- full bore, balls to the wall, balls-out, pedal to the metal
- 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
- In the third week Dr. Gale shifted into full throttle back pedal.2003, Jennifer Hendricks with Gordon Hendricks, Slim to None: A Journey Through the Wasteland of Anorexia Treatment, page 176
- Antonyms:
- low gear
Adverb
full throttle (comparative more full throttle, superlative most full throttle)
- All out; at maximum speed, effort, or risk.
- The other, the Christina Covey, there was another that never knowed the harbour, why, she come in full throttle1988, Murray A. Pura with Loren Wilkinson, Mizzly Fitch: The Light, the Sea, the Storm, page 14
- Virtually all exercise authorities recommend some kind of warm-up period in each session before you go full throttle1996, Steven Jonas, The Essential Triathlete
- Synonyms:
- full tilt boogie
Examples of full throttle in a sentence
- Under full throttle, your car is just on the border of maximum traction2003, Bob Bondurant with John Blakemore, Bob Bondurant on High Performance Driving, page 85:
- If Nonna had seen them, she would do the same as Dad, but I looked back to see her focused full throttle on whatever it was George was saying.2006, Dorothea Benton Frank, Full of Grace, page 212:
Synonyms of full throttle
Antonyms
Forms of full throttle
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | full throttles |
| alternative attributive | full-throttle |
| Adverb | |
| comparative | more full throttle |
| superlative | most full throttle |
Words formed from full throttle
Questions about full throttle
- What does full throttle mean?
- Full throttle means 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.
- How do you use full throttle in a sentence?
- Under full throttle, your car is just on the border of maximum traction
- What part of speech is full throttle?
- Full throttle can be a noun or an adverb.
- What is the plural of full throttle?
- The plural of full throttle is full throttles.
Words near full throttle in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: 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.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “full throttle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/full_throttle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.