strangling

Verb

strangle (third-person singular simple present strangles, present participle strangling, simple past and past participle strangled)

1. (transitive) To kill someone by squeezing the throat so as to cut off the oxygen supply.
   • She strangled her husband and dissolved the body in acid.

   Synonyms:

   scrag

2. (transitive) To choke, suffocate or throttle, whether the victim survives or not.
3. (transitive) To stifle or suppress.
   • He strangled a scream.
4. (intransitive) To be killed by strangulation, or become strangled.
   • The cat slipped from the branch and strangled on its bell-collar.
5. (intransitive) To be stifled, choked, or suffocated in any manner.
   • Shall I not then be stifled in the vault, / […] And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes?c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...

See all 6 meanings of strangle